Food and Basketball
by Crimsonwings92
Summary: Sweet, funny, and chill Tiana Sellers has magic hands made for baking some of the best desserts ever tasted in Twilight Town High School. Kind, athletic, and sexy Riku finds something purely irresistable about her and it's not just her Boston Cream Cheese Cupcakes that he's craving. RikuxOC
1. Chapter 1: Friday Night Lights

**Crimsonwings92: **Hey there! Hi there! Ho there! I'm back with a brand new story and I hope to God that it turns out well! I know it's been forever since anyone has seen or heard anything from me, but I assure you, that I'm trying to get back into the groove of things. To my readers of **Only For You**, I ran into some more trouble with the story and decided that I'm going to re-write everything because I think I've matured a little more since the last time I updated the story and realized that a lot of things aren't really connecting or making sense. So I decided to re-write it to make it better and less mediocre! I already have 5 chapters done, so I will be posting up the new revised version soon so I have more time to work on more chapters without you guys having to wait too long for the next one. I'm digressing! Anyway! Enjoy this new story and I hope you find it to your liking!

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Kingdom Hearts, but I do own Tiana, Lauren, and anyone else that was never part of the game.

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><p><strong>Food and Basketball<strong>

**Chapter 1: Friday Night Lights**

My ears were filled with the noise of the comfortably warm water spraying out of the showerhead, my body tingling pleasantly as it hit my skin and tickled me as it trickled down. The longer the hot water ran, the more the bathroom filled with stream, the wispy white tendrils of air circling up and around me and then hitting the ceiling searching for a way out. I stared at those tendrils for a long while, my hands sub-consciously moving over my body as the body-sponge I used left a trail of soap behind. I loved taking showers, I think I just loved warm water in general, you know? Taking showers was always just such a…cleansing ritual for me and not just for my body, either, but for my mind as well. It's like, as I'm washing my body of dirt, I'm washing my mind of confusion and frustration and insecurities and things like that. However, just like dirt, it always comes back and soils me, forcing me to take a shower 24 hours later.

Not really a problem. I like showers. Long ones, too.

But I can't stay here for _too _long, I have to get out soon because I have plans. Plans with friends. Plans that I really don't care too much about, but I did promise my friends I would participate, so no backing out now. Sighing almost sadly that I had to leave the warm sanctuary of the shower, I shut off the water and stepped out, wrapping myself up in a fluffy, burgundy towel. I stood in front of my fogged up mirror and listened to the water drip out of the showerhead for a moment, just listening, then I raised my hand to wipe away the fog so I could see my reflection. The image that greeted me was that of a teenage girl, 17, with coffee-brown skin, burgundy eyes, and black hair that always seemed stuck between curly and wavy. My hair was sometimes a monster to tame, but what girl's hair isn't on those bad days. I stared at my reflection for a minute or two, my eyes transfixed on that beauty mark just underneath my right eye and I contemplated on whether or not I should get it removed in the future.

Shrugging, since there was nothing I could do about it now, I reached into the cupboard under the sink and pulled out my black, polka-dotted hair blow-dryer and opened the door to let the steam out a little more. Plugging it in and turning it on to medium, I spent about five minutes blow-drying my hair so it would look less frizzy. Satisfied with my half-dry hair and deciding that I would finish doing it after I was fully dressed, I turned off the dryer, threw my hair up in a ponytail for now and left my bathroom into the sanctity of my bedroom. Feet padding on the black carpet, I stood in front of my closet and stared at my assortment of clothing, wondering what I should wear for the evening. Probably something comfortable and close to sporty since I was being dragged to a basketball game.

"Let's see…I like these jeans. They're pretty comfortable," I mused quietly to myself, pulling down a pair of dark-blue jeans from the top shelf of my close and then, after some more consideration, took down a black, zip-up jacket that said Falcons across the front in red and had a red Falcon head on the back, "and maybe a red tank-top with the school jacket. Oh, and my red flats. That sounds good enough to me."

Laying the clothes on the bed, I dried myself off, reached into my dresser drawer for a bra and underwear to put them on before going about my routine of moisturizing, putting on deodorant, spraying a little body spray- _Into the Wild_ from Bath and Body Works, love it- and then getting dressed in my clothes. After all this was done, and I had finished my hair by drying it, leaving it out and placing a head band in the curly locks, I finally checked my cell phone to see that I had a message from my best friend Lauren.

"_Hey, girl, you ready or what? Picking you up in 10 min. ;)" _

I checked the time; it was 7:25 and she sent the message 5 minutes ago. I sighed and shook my head while replying, "**Yeah, okay, I'll be ready by the time you get here."**

I sent the message and shoved my phone in my pocket along with my Ipod and some money; I know I'm going to a basketball game, but I pretty much take my Ipod everywhere out of habit. Checking myself in the mirror one more time, pulling the zipper of the jacket up a little more so it was just underneath my modest sized breasts, I left the room and bounded downstairs.

"Granda!" I called through the house, the little tick-tick sound of metal hitting metal reaching my ears, "Granda, I'm heading out!"

I walked into the living room where the sound was coming from and saw my grandmother, Granda to me and everyone that knew her, sitting in her favorite chair by the window with her knitting needles moving nimbly in her hands as the red and white yarn that was in the basket by her side was woven into the scarf she was making. Granda smiled at me when I walked in, her burgundy eyes that were so much like mine twinkling happily as she nodded.

"Where are you going, Tiana?" she asked, her gentle, warm voice making me smile.

"To a basketball game with Lauren and a couple others, I think. She's going to be here to pick me up soon," I answered, checking my phone for the time.

She gave a chuckle as her knitting needles continued to click together, "Alright then, child, you be safe out there, ya' hear me? I don't want my granddaughter returned to me in a body bag."

I rolled my eyes at her, but it was out of fun as I reached out to tuck a piece of her silver-gray hair back into the neat bun she had created on top of her head; "Yes, Granda, I'll be careful. I should be back before midnight, okay? So don't wait up and don't freak out when you hear the door open."

"Yeah, yeah, get out of here and go have fun," she laughed as I hugged and kissed her.

Honk! Honk!

I looked up as bright headlights flashed through the living room window; Lauren was here. I bid good-bye to my grandmother one more time before heading for the door. It was a chilly night since it was mid-fall, the temperatures slowly dropping every night and promising a relatively cold winter. I was already able to see my breath in the night air come out as white puffs. I quickly made my way to Lauren's dark red SUV, hopping into the front seat and smiling at my best friend.

"Hey, girlie," I greeted as soon as the door was closed.

"Hey, chick! What's up?" she greeted back, leaning over to give me a hug.

I shrugged, "Nothing much, just wondering why I'm agreeing to go to this stupid game with you."

Lauren rolled her eyes at my statement as she pulled out of the driveway and back onto the street, her dark brown eyes glinting in the street lights, "Oh, come on, Tia, it'll be fun! You, me, the Woolson twins, and a few hot basketball players? It's sure to be a good time."

She wiggled her eyebrows at me suggestively and ran her perfectly manicured nails over her neatly braided hair, making me laugh. Lauren was the prettier one out of the two of us, I think, looking all sporty in a red Falcons school shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt; a pair of black tights and her fuzzy black boots completed the look. She's a pretty African-American girl with all the right curves in the all the right places, the prettiest face with the highest cheekbones and darkest brown eyes and warmest smile you've ever seen, and a super cool personality. She's way outgoing and super friendly and sweet, but she's got her mean streak, too, so she's no push-over, ya know? It's a wonder how we're best friends, really, since I don't necessarily like to go to sports events or parties or dances that much, but she lives for that stuff!

Go figure.

"So Kairi and Namine are coming, too?" I asked, watching the urban scenery pass in front of my eyes.

Lauren nodded, "Yup, it was confirmed earlier in the day. You know, when it comes to the Hepler Twins, those two girls can't really stay away. Can't blame them, though, cuz Sora and Roxas are hot!"

"Oh god," I groaned, shaking my head playfully, "You three are so boy crazy! It's amazing!"

"It's amazing that you're _not _boy crazy! There are so many hot guys at our school," she trailed off, keeping her eyes on the road.

I rolled my eyes again, "Oh please, I have more important things to do with my life than obsess over some guy."

"You're right, like make me food. When are you going to make me that chicken, broccoli, and cheese dish? I've been waiting for, like, a month!"

I paused for a moment, scratching my head in confusion before stifling a laugh as I covered my mouth, "I forgot."

"You're a bitch."

"I'm sorry! It was an honest mistake! Ow! Hahaha!"

The car was filled with our laughter the entire trip back to the school. In less than 15 minutes, we were pulling up into the student parking lot of Twilight Town High School, named after the good old city of Twilight Town! Original, huh? The parking lot was already kind of packed since our school was pretty big on attending sports events, like this basketball game for instance. Tonight was the first game between the Twilight Town Falcons and our long-time rivals, the West Chesterfield High Vikings. Fellow schoolmates adorned in the Falcon colors of red and black littered the campus as they slowly, or quickly, made their way into the gym where the game was to be held.

"Lauren! Tiana! Over here!"

At hearing our names being called, Lauren and I turned around as we got out of the car to see two girls that looked strikingly alike skipping over to us, both wearing matching school spirit sweatshirts with white mini-skirts, black leggings, and boots. Kairi and Namine Woolson were identical twins, but with one big difference between them. While Kairi had red, almost magenta, hair with pale skin and blue eyes, Namine had blond hair with pale skin and blue eyes. They were both really pretty and really sweet, but Kairi was more outgoing than Namine and sometimes outshined her. I don't think Namine really cared, though; as long as she had her sketchbook and art supplies, she was happy.

I smiled at the two and nodded my head up, "Hey, guys, what's up?"

"Tiana!" Kairi exclaimed, throwing her arms around me and practically squeezing the living breath out of me, "I'm so happy you're here! I was almost certain you would back out last minute."

"Yeah, well, you guys know I'm not a huge fan of these kinds of things," I defended after Kairi released me only to have Namine throw herself at me, too.

"Nonetheless, we're happy you decided to come," she added to her sister's declaration, voice gentle and sweet.

I forced a smile for the two before we all made our way into the gym, our ears immediately being assaulted with the deafening sounds of blaring music and screaming spectators. The bleachers were almost filled on both sides, so the four of us quickly rushed to the Home side to find good seats which ended up being somewhere near the top and in the middle with a few other people that we knew from around school. I greeted everyone and endured a few minutes of how 'the hermit finally left her shell for the first time since the school year started' before I took a seat beside Namine and waited for the game to begin, only talking when addressed.

The initial noise in the gym started to grow louder in volume as our boys on the basketball team made their rounds around the court before settling in on their side of the court to do warm-ups. I heard Kairi squeal excitedly when she got a look at Sora in his pre-game uniform and I noticed Namine blushing profusely when Roxas began his stretches. When he bent forward at the waist, her cheeks just got redder and I blinked.

"Namine," I started slowly, raising one of my eyebrows in amusement, "are you…are you checking out Roxas' ass?"

She must've been because her whole face turned the color of a cherry and I could've sworn steam was coming out of her ears. So Namine's a bit of a pervert, huh? Never would have guessed.

"I-I was not! I-I wouldn't…that's completely not…I-I mean it was just…in my face!" she justified herself, covering her cheeks.

"Wow, Namine, I knew you were kind of into him, but really? Checking out his ass? Wow, girlie!" I teased her more, waving my hand around.

I swear her head was about to explode, she was so red.

"No! That's not it!" she cried over the noise.

"Are you guys talking about Roxas? He has a nice ass, huh?" Lauren cut in, pretending to be eyeing said blonde's nicely formed backside, "I mean, Namine, if you don't want him, then-"

"STOP TEASING ME!"

There was lots of laughter at Namine's expense, but we eventually stopped with our blond friend making us promise not to tease her like this again. I didn't make that promise because I can't trust myself to keep it, hehehe, but I DID promise her that I would TRY. It soon came time for the game to start and the players on both teams set up in the middle of the court. I settled back and waited, my ears picking up a conversation that a few girls were having with each other behind me.

"Riku looks really hot tonight!"

"He looks hot all the time!"

"Yeah, but he looks _really _hot tonight!"

"Wait, which one is Riku again?"

There was a moment of stunned silence that almost made me laugh before a resounding smack to the arm reached my ears, the girl that asked the question giving a painful cry.

"How can you not know who Riku is?" one of her friends hissed violently.

"Because I don't! So which when is he?"

"The point guard; the one with the long silver hair held back in a low ponytail."

"You mean the one in the center with the pale skin and…hard muscles?"

"Yeah, and his hypnotizing blue-green eyes. They're like the sea, you know? Always changing from one color to the next and then back!"

"Wow. He IS hot!"

"Told you!"

While the girls behind me continued to gossip, unaware that I was listening, I decided myself that I would look at Riku, too. It was no surprise that he was really cute, because he was; Riku Lexington was this surreal beauty on campus, a very manly beauty with a strong jaw, lean yet defined muscles, a sloping nose and tall stature. What made him more beautiful, though, was his long silver hair, alabaster pale skin, and those blue-green eyes. I've heard from other girls- while I was eavesdropping, of course- that it's incredibly easy to get lost in those eyes of his. I can't tell you for sure because I've never taken the time to sit and stare into his eyes. Yeah, we're schoolmates and everything and yes, we have had classes together before in the past, but we've never actually…acknowledged each other.

So yeah.

Guess what I'm not going to do? I'm not going to run through every detail of the game, so let's just settle with the fact that we, the Falcons, won the game with a score of 58 to 42…yeah, it was great and the Vikings on the guest side were anything but good sportsmen about it, but whatever. With the end of the game came the post-game stampede of everyone rushing for the door as if the building were on fire.

"That was a really good game," Lauren commented, turning to the three of us as we waited for the crowd to die down a little before we got up to leave too.

"I'll say! Sora did amazing in defense and he's not too shabby at the free-throw line," Kairi gushed, getting stars in her eyes at the thought of her could-be lover.

"And you, Namine? How do you think Roxas did tonight? Wasn't too bad, was he? Pretty decent, huh?" Lauren asked our blond friend with a teasing smirk and a wiggle of her eyebrows, "Not to mention how tight and round his ass looked, am I right ladies?"

"YOU PROMISED!" Namine cried indignantly, her face turning that interesting shade of red again as she covered her cheeks with her hands.

"Crossies!" Lauren and Kairi both declared as they held up their right hands, showing their index finger and their middle finger crossed together.

What a way to bring back elementary school.

"Seriously, you guys, don't make fun of me. It's hard enough just having these feelings for him without you three rubbing it in!" Namine begged, looking desperate.

I held up my hands and shook my head, "Woah, woah, woah. I didn't say a thing this time, so don't loop me in with these two knuckleheads."

"Knock, knock," Lauren taunted with a grin, knocking her knuckles against her own head.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever, I think it's good for us to get up now. It looks pretty clear at the entrance."

The others followed my lead as I made my way down the stairs of the bleachers, somewhat eager to get out of the gym. We followed the small flow of other people out the door and into the crisp night air; I breathed deeply, filling my lungs with the clean air, and exhaled deeply with a content sigh.

"So, what's the deal now? Are you going to continue holding me hostage or can I go home?" I asked half-teasingly as I turned to my best friend and my other two friends.

Kairi rolled her eyes at me and shook her head while putting her hands on her small hips, "Honestly, Tiana, you're such a kill joy. Why not enjoy the rest of the night? There's plenty of moonlight to burn, hehehe!"

"Only werewolves burn moonlight…MONSTER!" I shouted back at her, shoving her playfully and earning a squeal in return as she jumped on me, Namine and Lauren laughing behind us.

"Hey, who are those cute girls I see?"

Kairi and I stopped our playing around and all four of us turned our heads towards the cars in the parking lot. There, we saw a few of the basketball players lounging about in front of a few cars; Kairi had to restrain herself from squealing too loudly. Sora, Roxas, Riku, and some dude with red hair- I think his name is Axel- were all looking our way. Sora had this big grin on his face as he leaned against the black Honda he and his brother drove here, his eyes obviously staying glued to Kairi.

"Hey, Kairi! How are you tonight?" he asked my now blushing redheaded friend.

Kairi sub-consciously smoothed down her skirt and fixed her hair as she smiled back and made her way over to the four boys, the three of us in tow; "I'm doing just great, Sora! Great game tonight, you guys totally killed!"

I swear Sora's grin grew bigger, "Thanks, lovely! It wasn't that much of a challenge, though. Everyone knows the Vikings suck in comparison to us." Kairi giggled girlishly as she leaned in closer to the brunette, just close enough for him to probably get a whiff of her perfume.

"Honestly, though, you guys were awesome out there. Exciting, as always," Lauren piped up, grinning up at the four boys while I stayed quiet and to myself.

"Yup, I expect nothing better. They did learn from the master over here," the redheaded male voiced out in playful pride as he held his head up high.

Was his name Axel? I couldn't remember.

Lauren blinked her eyes curiously as her brows furrowed together and her head tilted to the side, "Are you part of the basketball team, too? I don't remember seeing you."

"Well, I'm not part of the team, per say, but that doesn't mean I don't play," the tall, lanky guy answered, peering down suggestively at my best friend.

"No, it means we won't _let_ him play. The guy has about as much skill as a toddler," Roxas piped in, effectively earning a glare from redheaded guy.

"I was actually curious about that. I couldn't remember seeing you at any games before or even the practices," Namine commented quietly, startling herself when she made eye-contact with Roxas and her smirked at her, making her blush profusely.

"That's just Axel, for you-"

His name IS Axel!

"He likes to think he's so good that he doesn't need to be on a team lest it give us too much of an advantage," Roxas continued, grinning at the redhead as another glare was thrown his way.

"You know, you weren't making all these cracks when you were begging me to help you with your lay-ups, Roxas," Axel sneered at the blond male's blushing face before he turned to us, "Who are these lovely ladies again? I don't think we've all been properly introduced."

"Oh, I'm Kairi Woolson and this is my twin sister, Namine!" Kairi started, bouncing on her toes.

Namine waved shyly, "Hi, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, cutie," Axel replied, turning his green eyes towards me and Lauren.

"My name is Lauren Campbell, nice to meet you," Lauren held her hand out for Axel to shake, which he did.

He turned to me, "And you?"

I just blinked at him, Lauren jumping in for me; "That's my best friend, Tiana Sellers. She's a little quiet."

"Oh, a quiet one huh? Does that mean you're kind of shy?" Axel questioned teasingly as he returned to leaning against the car with the other three boys, "Don't worry, Tiana, I won't bite. Unless you want me to, of course."

He smirked suggestively my way and it was all I could do to not roll my eyes loudly; "For the sake of keeping all of your teeth, you better not bite me," I warned him, stuffing my hands in my jacket pockets as I narrowed my eyes.

"Woah! Quite an attitude you got there! It's cute," Axel continued, unfazed by my threat.

This time, I did roll my eyes and scoot away from him a little bit, listening as Sora asked us what we planned to do now that the game was over and the weekend was ahead of us.

"Well, I was planning to go home," I muttered to myself, earning a smack from Lauren as Kairi giggled girlishly and twirled a lock of her red hair around her dainty finger.

"Well, we didn't really have any absolute plans," she said flirtatiously, batting her long lashes at the brunette, "Did you guys have any plans?"

"Not really. At least, not until now. Why don't you girls join us for a piece of victory pizza? We would love the company," Sora answered, obviously flirting back.

Oh, gag me! Why don't they just get together and save us all the drama? Someone give me something else to listen to! Please!

"Well, looks like we got ourselves a couple of hot dates, man! Told you it wouldn't be long."

Well…thank you. Upon hearing those words, my ears zeroed in on the conversation that Axel and Riku were trying to secretly have, both of them unaware that I was even within listening range.

"It'll be cool, man! We'll take all the girls out for pizza and cozy up to them to get their numbers. Well…all except one, maybe," Axel whispered excitedly before his voice dipped into an unsatisfied tone.

"What are you talking about?" I heard Riku ask.

"Well…maybe that Tiana chick should just a hitch a ride home or something."

…Excuse me?

"Axel, are you serious! What the hell is your problem?" Riku hissed at him.

I turned my head a little to look at them from the corner of my eye to see Riku staring at Axel with a hard look, the redhead just shrugging it off with a defense.

"I'm just saying, Riku, that she would just cramp our style. I mean, she _seems _like a nice enough chick, if you can get past the attitude, but come on. Do you really want someone that looks like _that _trailing along behind you?"

For all of you that suddenly either got very confused or very angry when he said that, thinking that he was being racist and bagging on my skin color, be assured that he wasn't. He was actually talking about the size of my body. I'm a full-figured girl, ladies and gentlemen, and that means that instead of wearing a size 2 or 4, like a lot of my friends, I actually wear a size 16 to accommodate my wider hips and thicker thighs. I have a bit of a tummy, a more than modest set of breasts, and just all-around look like the big girl that boys don't really go for. Oh, don't worry, it's not like I really _hate _my appearance or my body, I just _hate _that I get comments like the ones I just heard from guys like Axel. I'm not grotesquely fat, like 800 pounds or anything, but I may as well be with how they treat me sometimes.

I heard a thump next as Riku hit Axel in the chest, his eyes narrowing angrily and his voice taking on a slightly panicked tone, "Dude, shut up! She's right there! She can probably hear you!"

The tall, lanky, green-eyed redhead merely chuckled as if I were some joke, "So what? What is she going to do? Sit on me?"

I guess I am just a joke.

"No, but I'm pretty sure I can knock your dumbass out and then break you in two," I finally spoke up, turning irritably to Axel and Riku.

The others stopped talking at my comment, all of them falling silent to listen to us. Axel just smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"I have no idea what you're-"

"Save it," I snapped, cutting him off, "If you're going to try and be a man to talk about how me being fat is cramping your style, then at least be man enough to admit it to my face cuz I already heard you, dumbass!"

He stopped then and his smirk faltered, probably embarrassed that he had been caught and had been called out by the object of his jokes. I felt Lauren move closer, her hand touching my elbow hesitantly.

"Tiana?" she asked quietly, questioningly, wondering why I was so pissed.

"Hey, Tiana, I didn't mean anything by it, okay?" Axel replied back, finally, his hands up in surrender, "I was just joking around, no big deal!"

"It is a big deal because I'm not a joke!" I yelled back, feeling my anger starting to surface more, "You don't even know me and yet you think it's okay to start poking fun at me because of my extra weight. Guys like you make me sick!"

Everyone was silent then, all of them just staring at me and then at Axel and then back to me. The redhead looked stunned and lost for a minute, as if he couldn't decide what to do at this point. I looked at Riku and then at the rest of them, seeing their stunned faces. Lauren, however, looked very concerned. No matter how much I say that I don't really care about my appearance, the topic of my weight is still a touchy one.

I sighed deeply and shook my head, holding out my hand to Lauren with my eyes closed, "Give me your keys. I'm going to go sit in the car."

She just stared at me for a long moment before she shook her head and put her hand on my shoulder, "No, let's just go. We'll go to my house and do something so we don't bother your grandmother."

I opened my eyes and looked at her, nodding my head before the both of us turned to walk back to her car; "Bye guys, see you all at school!" she called to the group as we retreated, earning a chorus of weak farewells in return. I could feel their eyes on me as we left and it bothered me, but I calmed my anger and continued forward, jumping into the car with Lauren and staring out the window as we pulled out of the parking lot.

This is why I don't like going out.

I told Lauren that I didn't want to go to her house that night and just wanted to go home, telling her I was too tired to really do anything fun anymore. Thank goodness she understood without getting mad and took me home while trying to cheer me up at the same time. To make her feel like she wasn't wasting her energy, I laughed and smiled a few times to make her feel better. When we pulled up in front of Granda's house, she cut the engine and looked over at me.

"So…you want to tell me what he said?" she questioned, running her fingers through her braids before wrapping one around her finger.

I just shook my head and sighed through my nose, leaning my head against my hand as I propped my elbow up on the window sill, "It wasn't anything, like, degrading like 'oh, she's as fat as a cow! Let's tip her over!' He just said that I would cramp everyone's style because of the way I look."

"Wow, what a jerk! I can't believe he said that to you!" she cried, brown eyes flashing dangerously.

"Oh, he didn't say it to me. He was trying to talk quietly to Riku, but you know me. Bat ears and all," I retorted, trying to make light of the situation.

"Well, still! He shouldn't even be marking you off already just because you have a voluptuous figure! What a shallow asshole!" she all but yelled, clenching her fingers.

See why I love her? Such a confidence booster and she's one of the size 4s I was talking about earlier.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I sighed, "It's over and done with and I just want to relax in my own room now. Sorry for ruining your night with Kairi and Namine and the others."

"Oh, Tia, you didn't ruin my night! The night was ruined for _you_!" she insisted, bringing me in for a hug, "One of the few times we actually get you out of the house and this happens. I feel like I caused this."

"Oh, hush, girlie. You did not cause this," I reassured her, breaking the hug and putting my hand on the handle of the car, "But I'll see you later, okay? Maybe we'll hang out tomorrow or something, yeah?"

"Alrighty, sounds good to me. Later chick!" she bid as she turned the car back on and put it in reverse.

"Later!" I replied, shutting the car door.

I remained in the driveway as Lauren backed her car out, waving bye one last time before she turned onto the street and drove off. It was silent again all around me, my ears ringing slightly once the noise of her engine had been carried away. Sighing, I turned towards the house and made my way inside, moving quietly so as not to startle my grandma.

The last time I kind of barreled through Granda's house, she thought I was a burglar and tried to knock me out with the metal bat she keeps near her chair at all times. Close call. Very close call.

"Tiana, baby, is that you?"

Speaking of Granda…

"Yeah, Granda, it's me," I replied, closing the front door and walking into the living room. Granda was sitting in the same spot I had left her in about two hours ago, her knitting needles still clicking away as gospel music blared through the TV.

"You're home kind of early, little girl," she commented quizzically, "Didn't you say you would be home closer to midnight."

I shrugged, "Yeah, well, I wasn't having that much fun and we didn't really plan to do much of anything after so…"

Granda stared at me, long and hard, her needles coming to a halt as her dark eyes shined with a serious emotion. She put down her knitting, "Did something happen, baby? You seem a little down. Or, at least, irritated in some way."

I just shrugged again and shook my head, "It's nothing, Granda, really."

"Tiana," she started in a warning tone, "Now, you know I know you better than that, baby. Come on, tell your Granda what happened."

I sighed and stuffed my hands in my pockets again, leaning my weight on my right leg as I bent my left one, "It's really nothing. It's just some guy didn't really want to hang out with me and the girls if I was going to be there. Said I cramped his style because I'm not a little Miss Skinny Body."

My grandmother looked at me like she had just heard someone pantsed me during gym class; "Oh, baby…"

"Granda, I told you, it's fine!" I groaned, rolling my head back until I was looking at the ceiling.

"I'm so sorry, Tiana. Here, give your Granda a hug so she can make it all better," she put her knitting in her yarn basket, got up from the chair, and shuffled over to me to give me a warm hug, patting me on the back comfortingly, "Do you want me to whip you up a batch of my famous home-made double chocolate chip cookies?"

"Granda, I don't think I need to be eating right now after my body weight was just questioned," I declined, shaking my head.

"Oh, now baby, it's no trouble at all! Besides, I have a bit of a sweet tooth myself, right now and cookies will make everything better for everyone," she insisted, already shuffling passed me.

"Granda," I tried again, only to give up because once she's in that kitchen, there's no stopping her. So I just sighed, but smiled warmly and followed after her into the kitchen.

She's right, though; her cookies always make everything better.

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><p><strong>End Chapter <strong>

**Crimsonwings92: **You like? Yes? No? Maybe? Got to hell you horrible writer? Let me know what you guys think and if I should maybe continue this story, yeah? Ciao!


	2. Chapter 2: Apologies

**Crimsonwings92: **Okay, despite the fact that I haven't gotten any reviews yet, I'm going to put chapter two up. I figured it's because the first chapter is pretty slow moving or doesn't have anything going on, really, but aren't most first chapters like that? Hmmm….curious. Anyway, here's chapter two and I hope you all find this worth reading and will review.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything Kingdom Hearts related.

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><p><strong>Food and Basketball<strong>

**Chapter 2: Apologies**

_**A place to crash  
>I got you<br>No need to ask  
>I got you<br>Just get on the phone  
>I got you<br>Come and pick you up if I have to  
>What's weird about it<br>Is we're right at the end  
>And mad about it<br>Just figured it out in my head  
>I'm proud to say<br>I got you**_

_**Go ahead and say goodbye**_  
><em><strong>I'll be alright<strong>_  
><em><strong>Go ahead and make me cry<strong>_  
><em><strong>I'll be alright<strong>_  
><em><strong>And when you need a place to run to<strong>_  
><em><strong>For better for worse<strong>_  
><em><strong>I got you<strong>_  
><em><strong>I got you<strong>_

Leona Lewis blared from my iHome speakers and I sang along to the song as I bustled about my room that Monday morning, getting ready for school. I had settled on a pair of blue jean denim shorts, a black and white long-sleeved 'Sports 8' shirt, black tights and black and white high-top Converse shoes. I was just in the middle of tying up my shoes when I heard a honk outside my window followed by Granda's voice.

"Tiana! Lauren's here to get you! Are you ready yet?"

I took a second to blink before fishing my phone out from underneath my pillow to check the time. It was 7:30 and I hadn't even eaten breakfast yet.

"Damn," I muttered before going to my door and opening it a little, "I'll be right down Granda!"

Then, I went over to the window that overlooked the driveway and opened it up; "Yo, Lauren! 5 minutes!"

"Hurry your ass up, girlie!" she yelled back playfully, hanging out the driver's side window.

I waved her off before retreating back into my room and closing my window. I took one last look in the mirror and, satisfied with my appearance, sprayed some body spray, grabbed my backpack, and exited my room. I trotted down the stairs and stopped in the kitchen long enough to bid good-bye to Granda.

"Later, Granda! I'm off to school."

"Did you eat something?"

"I'll eat something when I get there."

"Tiana…"

"I'll eat something when I get there, Granda!" I insisted, skipping over to her to kiss her on the cheek, "Have a good day, okay, and be safe. Love you!"

"Bye, baby. I love you too," she called back as I ran out the door and over to Lauren's car.

"Hey! Morning, Lauren!" I greeted, hopping into the car and closing the door.

"What up, chickie? You look cute!" she greeted back, hitting my thigh before backing out of the driveway and turning onto the main road.

"Thanks," I blushed, laughing a little.

"Oh…here," she reached down between the two front seats and pulled out a paper bag, handing it over to me.

I took the bag and peered inside, smiling a moment later when the smell of the cinnamon roll hit my nose. "Awww! How did you know I would miss breakfast today?"

"Cuz we've been best friends for 7 years and I know you," Lauren responded, grinning as we made our way to school, trying to maneuver as quickly as possible through the morning traffic of Twilight Town.

"True," I muttered around a mouthful of cinnamon roll, savoring the sweet taste of the bun.

"No orgasming in my car because of food," she ordered, making me choke on the bit I had in my mouth.

"You're so freaking gross! I can't believe you just said that to me!" I exclaimed, blushing hard, probably, as I smacked her in her arm, only making her laugh loudly.

We eventually made it to Twilight Town High with just enough time to get to our lockers and then get to class. No socializing because then we would be late. Lauren was lucky enough to find a parking space relatively close to the school building and we both ran inside so we wouldn't waste too much time just walking there; besides, it was still a little chilly and the school building was always warm with the body heat of other students.

"We didn't have any homework for LeBraxton, right?" Lauren asked me as we stopped by my locker.

"Hmmm, nope, not this time," I replied, spinning my combination and opening the metal door, "Which is a miracle in and of itself since LeBraxton seems to get off on giving his students a bunch of homework for no reason at all."

"I know, right? Why are Biology teachers like that?" Lauren questioned, putting on a 'I'm actually thinking really hard about this!' face and effectively making me laugh humorously.

"Tiana! Lauren!"

"Hmm? Oof!" I turned around at the sound of my name being called only to see a flash of magenta hair before a small, lithe body literally jumped on me and small, thin arms wrapped themselves around my neck.

"Morning girls!" Kairi exclaimed, hugging me tightly before letting me go and bouncing on her toes.

Is she excited about something? No, not really. She's actually like that all the time. Kind of hard to believe that she and Namine are sisters let alone _twin _sisters. I would believe 'cousins' more than I would believe 'sisters'.

I digress.

I sighed deeply and gave Kairi a weary look, "You have GOT to stop doing that, Kai. You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days with the way you sneak up on me!"

The redhead just giggled into her hand and waved it off, "Sorry, Tiana. I was just excited to see you, that's all."

"Oh, by the way, Tiana," Namine spoke up as she moved to stand next to Kairi.

"_We're sorry."_

"Woah!" I muttered when they both said the same thing at the same time, "For…For what?"

"For what happened Friday night," Namine answered.

"Yeah! As your friends, we shouldn't have allowed for that to happen!" Kairi added adamantly, looking peeved.

I stared at them quizzically, wondering how they knew what actually happened when I averted my eyes to Lauren, who shrugged her shoulders and grinned.

"I told them what happened. They were worried about you after we left and wanted to know if you were okay. I thought they should know what happened," she explained.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes with a grin of my own, "You guys, it's no big deal, okay? And it's not your fault! It was all on Axel, he was being an asshole."

"Well…still…" Namine mumbled, but I stopped her.

"Still nothing! It's not your fault so you don't have to apologize!"

The twins stared at me before they both moved at the same time and gave me a big hug, confusing me a little.

"You're such a strong person, Tiana. I'm glad that we're friends," Kairi said kindly.

"Ummm…okay?" I didn't exactly know how to respond to her sincere words.

She just giggled as both she and Namine released me and stepped back, turning to walk away from us; "Well, we have to get going now. The bell is going to ring soon and we really shouldn't be late again," Kairi said, smiling at Namine, who nodded.

"Okay, see you guys later!" Lauren bid to our friends as the Woolson twins started walking away.

"Bye you two!"

"See you at lunch."

"Later," I waved as they walked away before turning sharply to Lauren who cursed aloud, "What's wrong?"

"I totally forgot that I told Samson I would give him back his book before his first period class! Dammit! Look, I gotta get going to see if I can catch him! Talk to you later, girlie!" she explained, already running down the hallway.

"Run, Forest, Run!" I called to her back, laughing as she screamed out 'shut up!' before turning the corner.

I shook my head at my friend, grabbed the books I would need for my American Sign Language class and closed my locker while turning to head to my class as well. Before I could even take two steps, someone's shoulder collided with mine and we both dropped our books.

"Sorry!" the person apologized as they bent down to pick up the books.

"No, it's okay. I didn't see you coming," I replied politely as I, too, bent down to help.

That's when the person looked up and our eyes locked, "Tiana?"

I blinked as I stared into blue-green eyes, "Uh…Riku?"

The point-guard of the basketball team smiled at me as he reached for one of my books to pick it up, "Yeah. Hi."

"Hey," I replied quickly, moving fast to pick up my books and get out of there as Friday's events replayed in my head.

I know Riku wasn't the one making fun of me and I know he even tried to stop it, but just knowing that he was the one that Axel was talking to about me made me a little irritated with him. I didn't want to actually take it out on him, though.

"Uh, here. I think this is your book, too," he said, handing over my ASL dictionary.

Yes, those exist!

"Thanks," I mumbled, taking it in my arms as the both of us stood up at the same time.

Something caught my eye, a flashing light and I squinted my eyes and searched for the place where it was coming from. His ear. Apparently, Riku wears earrings! That's actually…kind of hot. I stared up at him, because he was about a head taller than me, and he stared at me while fiddling mindlessly with one of his diamond studs, both of us standing there awkwardly, as if waiting for the other to say something. So I did.

"Well, later," I bid, moving to walk around him briskly so I could get away from him and not be late for class simultaneously.

"Ah-Wait, Tiana!" he called, whirling around and reaching out to touch my elbow gently.

That single touch was enough to make me stop as I turned back to him, my elbow burning where he touched me. He stopped and looked down at me, warm smile still in place as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for what Axel said on Friday. It was totally stupid and a complete asshole move," he started, running his hand through his silver hair before moving it back down to his ear where he messed with his earring again, "But he's actually not a bad guy. Just a little dense."

Awwww. He's sticking up for his friend. How sweet?

"Right, I'm sure he's the world's most wonderful sweetheart," I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"He can be!" he blurted before catching himself, "I mean…I think if he just got to know you, he would find you pretty cool."

"Uh huh and you know I'm pretty cool because you yourself know sooooo much about me, right?" I countered, staring at his face.

Riku blinked and his brows furrowed together in thought as he tilted his head to the side, "Um…wow, I guess you're right about that. I really don't know that much about you."

We were immersed in this awkward silence again with the two of us just staring at each other, then at everything else around us when eye-contact became a little too uncomfortable. Riku stared at the lockers next to us and I stared down at his chest…And what a nice chest he has. I mean, although they were hidden, his muscles were so cleanly defined underneath his light blue, button down shirt. And his arms weren't looking too bad either. Before I could think another single thought about Riku's hidden muscles, bell rang and everyone began to stampede to their classes, cueing my time to leave.

"Well…later," I repeated, turning to go to class myself.

"Yeah, later."

And that was pretty much it. I left Riku there to go to his own class while I made my way to mine, ignoring the little tingling I still felt on my elbow from when he touched me.

&%&%&%&%&%&

"So Mr. Star Athlete himself actually apologized to you on Axel's behalf?"

"Yup, pretty much."

"See! All athletes aren't total asses like you think they are! There you go, girlie!" Lauren exclaimed as she pounded me on my back a little too enthusiastically.

I coughed after the assault, narrowing my eyes at my giggling best friend before muttering a 'whatever' and taking a swig of my Powerade. It's the end of the school day and we were lagging it as we made our way out of the building and towards the parking lot where everyone else with a car was going while others that either needed to take the bus or walked home went to the bus stop or hit the streets walking.

"At least you know he cared enough and had enough moral principle to feel bad about it. That says something about him, right?" Lauren continued, popping the last mini Oreo from her bag into her mouth before crumpling up the plastic and tossing it into the trash can.

I shrugged my shoulders and finished my drink, "I guess. I don't really care; I'm pretty much over it."

I threw my bottle into the recycling bin and ran after my best friend as she strutted over to her car. "Well, I think it makes him a pretty sweet guy," she commented, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

"Oh my, god. If Hugh Hefner picked up a book you dropped, you would think he was a sweet guy! Doesn't mean anything!" I shot back, throwing my hands in the air.

"It means he's nice!" Lauren countered, opening her door and climbing on the step to lean over the hood to stare at me, "Now get in the car. I'm dying for some gelato!"

I stared at her and spluttered a little before sighing deeply and moving to do as she said. I was stopped, though, by a gentle tap on my shoulder which made me turn around curiously.

"Hey Tiana."

…Uh…

I blinked in surprise, "Hey…Riku."

The silver-haired teen smirked at me as he nodded his head to the redhead behind him, stepping back a couple steps, "Axel has something he wants to say to you."

Said male grumbled something under his breath, but quickly straightened up when Riku shoved him in the back and gave him a hard stare. Axel glared at him but stepped forward anyway and looked me in the eye.

"Look, I'm…I'm sorry about what I said last Friday, okay? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," he apologized, breaking eye-contact to stare at the sidewalk.

I was confused to say the least and I looked back at Lauren to see her trying to hide a smile as her eyes grew wide and she lowered my window to hear what was going on. I turned back to the boys and looked at Riku, seeing a secret grin on his face before I faced Axel again.

"Um…I accept your apology?" I replied, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Yeah, okay," the redhead grumbled, turning to walk away from us, but not before stopping next to Riku and hissing out, "Happy now?"

Riku just waved him off and turned his eyes to me, smile becoming gentler as he stepped closer, "See? Told you he wasn't a bad guy."

I just blinked at him, my eye twitching, then I opened the car door and got in as my best friend started the car. I was just putting on my seatbelt when Riku's shadow filled the window.

"Tiana-"

"You made your point," I cut him off, snapping my eyes to him, "Okay? You made your freaking point. Axel's not a total asshole, I get it."

I then crossed my arms and sat back in the seat, probably resembling a pouting, sulking child. Riku just stared at me, then chuckled and shook his head while his hand went up to fiddle with that stud again, "I was just going to say that you look fine the way you are. Don't pay any mind to what Axel or what anyone else says."

Well, to say I was shocked would be an understatement and my confusion just increased when he reached into the car and lightly flicked one of my curls away from my face. He simply smiled at me for a minute before backing away from the car and waving.

"Later, Tiana," he bid before turning and walking away.

I watched him walk away, stumped as to what I should do or think next. Both Lauren and I were silent, she just as confused and surprised as I was by the whole ordeal; then, Lauren turned her big brown eyes to me, a big cheeky grin on her face.

"So, still think he's a jackass athlete?"

"Shut up and get us to Ive's Gelato."

The car was filled with my best friend's laughter as she put the car in reverse and pulled out of the school parking lot.

**End Chapter**

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><p><strong>Crimsonwings92: <strong>Alright, well, there you have it! Please review or I'll think no one cares enough about this story and probably take it down. Ciao!


	3. Chapter 3: Afterschool Bakery

**Crimsonwings92: **So I only got one review, but that's okay, I think. I'll put up chapter three to see if it gets more attention. Hope to acquire more readers for this story! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **KH is not mine.

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><p><strong>Food and Basketball<strong>

**Chapter 3: Afterschool Bakery**

"The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including a desire for expansion into the Northwest Territory, trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy, British support of American Indian tribes against American expansion, and over national honour after humiliations on the high seas. Tied down in Europe until 1814…"

'Blah, blah, blahblahblah…blah,' I thought drearily to myself, my chin planted firmly in my hand as I stared dully at the slideshow my incredibly boring American Civ teacher was presenting to the class. Mr. Stanley's voice was about as lively as a dead possum, I tell ya that much, 'I hate it when Friday's feel like this.'

"The war was fought in three theaters-"

Click.

"At sea, warships and privateers of both sides attacked each other's merchant ships. The British blockaded the Atlantic coast of the U.S. and mounted large-scale raids in the later stages of the war. American successes at sea were characterized by single ship duels against British…"

'I swear, this class was designed to slowly kill off the students. No wonder why so many kids drop or fail this class! It's a total Snore Fest!' I looked around at my classmates discreetly to see most of them asleep with a scattered few that were either doodling, texting, or listening to music.

I sighed silently and slumped a little in my chair, my head hanging to one side as I fought to keep my eyes open, which was no easy task considering who my teacher is. To keep myself somewhat entertained, I started to think about random things such as how Mr. Stanley seemed to always wear a plaid shirt as if it were his lifeline, how Maggie Demsley's gym shorts were so tight that they actually showed the line of her thong and instantly made her the new slut in our class (girls can be cruel), how some of the football guys were a little too obsessed with, well, football! And then, because I was thinking about sports, my mind wandered over to Riku and my brows furrowed.

I actually hadn't had another encounter with him since last Monday, partly because of luck and partly because I made sure that we didn't run into each other again. Yeah, we've seen each other while passing by in the hallways or in the cafeteria and we've kind of waved to each other on each occasion if we make eye contact, but that's pretty much it and I don't want it to go any further than that. Lauren keeps making fun of me because of our first, actual encounter, saying things to me like 'He likes you and that's why he went out of his way to apologize to you!' and 'I know he has a thing for you or he wouldn't have cared as much!'. I seriously think she needs a life…and maybe a boyfriend. Speaking of Lauren.

'I wonder how she's doing.'

Deciding that I would become part of the texting group that was in the class, I slipped my cell phone from my backpack and hid it from view of the teacher.

"_**Hey, girlie. How you feeling?"**_

I waited for a couple of minutes before a message was sent back to me.

"_I'M DYING!" _it read, making me roll my eyes as I sent a reply message.

"_**No, you're not. You just think you are. Have you taken the Alka-Seltzer yet?"**_

Lauren was home with the flu; she felt it coming on Wednesday and I had warned her to take some medicine to steer it off before it got too bad. Did she listen to me? Of course not and now she's 'dying' in bed at home on a Friday when she could be here at school keeping me company and planning the weekend with me.

My phone vibrated and I looked down at the message.

"_I took it a few minutes ago."_

"_**Good. Now just go to sleep so it can start working or you'll be sick longer and you know how much you hate that."**_

"_This sucks! I don't want to be sick! "_

"_**I told you to take some medicine before it got too bad, but you didn't listen to me. Now you're suffering, so there."**_

"_I already got that speech from my mom! I don't need it from my best friend!"_

"_**Great minds think alike. Gotta go, okay? Do you want me to stop by your classes and get your homework?"**_

"_No, that's okay. Someone else is already doing that for me. Thanks though."_

"_**No problem. Will check on you later, okay?"**_

"_If I actually do die, make sure they bury me with my Gucci bags."_

"_**You're not going to die! Feel better. "**_

Sending that last message, I put my phone away just as the bell rang and my classmates all scrambled to put their things away.

"Make sure you read chapters 10 and 11 for homework this weekend. There may or may not be a pop quiz on Monday," Mr. Stanley said to the rush of teenagers dying to get out of his class.

I scrambled as well to collect my things, refusing to be the last one out because of how paranoid I am; too many Lifetime movies made me think that every male teacher I have will rape me if I'm the last one left in the class. Stuffing my binder in my backpack, I bolted for the door and out into the hall, sighing in relief that I was able to get away with my virtue intact. It's lunchtime, now, meaning that everyone was heading to the cafeteria to eat and chill out with friends, so I decided to try my luck and see if anyone I knew was in the cafeteria. I turned in that direction and made my way slowly to my destination and pushed open one of the doors to said place and had my ears assaulted by the shouts and noise of almost every teenager in Twilight Town High School practically crammed into the small area. I looked around for a few of my friends while making my way to the Snack Bar, a little stand that sells small things like sandwiches and chips or brownies or little bowls of fruit to those students that just wanted something light and didn't want to eat in the lunchroom. I got myself a bowl of fruit- no, not because I'm on a diet!- and was just about to leave when Kairi's voice shouted at me from across the lunchroom.

"Tiana!" she waved as she skipped over to me and engulfed me in a hug.

What can I say? The girl loves giving hugs.

"Where's Lauren? She isn't here?" the redhead asked, looking around in case Lauren was somewhere nearby.

I shook my head, "Nope. She's home sick today."

"Awww! That sucks!"

"Yeah, tell me about it," I rolled my eyes playfully and grinned, earning a smile back from Kairi.

"Well, why don't you come sit with us then?" she inquired, flourishing her hand in the direction of the table she and Namine were probably occupying.

"Hmm," I hummed, my eyes roaming over the tables to see where Namine was sitting.

Well, I found her…sitting with Roxas, Sora, Axel, Riku and a few others that I wasn't all too familiar with, but they're not important. Riku is the important one because Riku is the one that I've been trying to prevent myself from encountering again. And by GOD I will NOT let Kairi get in my way! Lauren will not have the last laugh on this one!

"Actually, I'm just going to go to the library and get some reading done so I don't have to do any homework over the weekend," I declined politely yet quickly, already turning towards the exit.

"Oh, please Tiana! Axel won't say anything this time, I promise!" she pleaded, taking my hand in both of hers, "We bullied him into keeping his mouth shut."

"Axel's not the one I'm worried about," I muttered, averting my eyes to the side.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. We'll hang out some other time, okay Kairi? It's not like I'm disowning you or anything."

"Hehehe, okay then, Tiana. Have fun with your reading!" Kairi exclaimed, giving me one last hug before running off towards her table.

I sighed deeply and waved after her dully without really looking her way. When I raised my eyes, I noticed that Riku was looking over at me, a curious look in his eye as he smiled. I stopped waving immediately and turned towards the door, nodding in acknowledgement. He nodded back and looked like he was about to get up, but I quickly turned and walked out the door before I could be sure. Leaving the noisy lunchroom, I reveled in the silence of the hallway and inhaled deeply, releasing my breath through my nose. That was a close call, but I will not lose! Straightening up, I set my destination for the library and began my walk there when a sudden shadow dimmed the brightness of the hallway. Looking out the large windows in front of the lockers, I saw clouds beginning to roll in and I became worried; I wasn't prepared for rain and I didn't have a ride home.

"Well, I just hope it doesn't rain until after I get home," I mumbled to myself, watching the clouds worriedly for a minute and then walking away towards the library.

**Audience POV**

Crash! Crack! Boom!

Lightening streaked through the sky and the clouds opened up to let out a torrential rain that sent animals and people alike scattering for cover. The students of Twilight Town High School all scurried about like little ants running for safety, the ones that could drive running for their cars and the ones that had to take the bus running for the canopy next to the bus stop. The rest of them either stayed indoors until their rides showed up, caught rides with friends, or just ran home if they lived close enough. Dark-haired Tiana Sellers was currently in neither of those categories as she stared out at the storm from the safety and comfort of the kitchen in the Home Economics room.

"So much for not raining until after I got home," she muttered to herself, sighing and blowing a piece of her black curls out of her face.

The storm had started before her last class, sending the young teen into despair when she realized how out of luck she was. She didn't have a ride home since Lauren usually picked her up for school and dropped her back home- said girl being the only one of the two that had a driver's license- she just barely missed Kairi and Namine, the twins already having taken off to their house before she could ask them for a ride, she didn't have any money for the bus, and her grandmother wouldn't be home until much later that night. Friday's were her bingo nights and they ran well into the late hours of the evening. This only distraught Tiana even more since the school only stayed open until 8 o'clock really and, in all honesty, her home was too far to walk to in this storm.

She was stuck! And her nerves were fried!

And when her nerves became fried like that, she usually retreated to the kitchen of the Home Ec. room because it always made her feel better. Just the warm familiarity of the place could calm her down and if that didn't work all the way, she set about cooking or baking some kind of dish. The teacher of the Home Ec. class absolutely loved her because of her culinary creativity and always let Tiana use the kitchen and anything from the fridge as long as she left the teacher some of whatever she made.

Today, Tiana was making Boston Cream Cheese Cupcakes with strawberry toppings to help herself calm down more until she could figure out what to do before it got too late.

Sigh. "This sucks huge balls," the dark-skinned girl said to herself as a soft roll of thunder rumbled the earth and lightening splintered the sky, "I really need to get my license…and get a car."

The cupcakes in the oven were beginning to let off a wonderful, warm, delicious scent and Tiana breathed it in with a satisfied sigh, momentarily stopping the mixing of the Boston Cream Cheese frosting to let the smell soak in. The scent drifted out of the room and down the hallway, reaching the nose of another wayward soul that was walking through the halls. Riku Lexington, who was at his locker and pulling out his backpack along with the books needed for his homework over the weekend, stopped what he was doing and sniffed the air. Something sweet and delicious was being made somewhere nearby and the smell made his mouth water. He didn't really eat anything at lunch and he just finished two hours of practice, making the boy hungrier than a starving bear.

"Who in the world is still here, let alone still here and _cooking _something?" he asked himself, shutting his locker, slinging his bag over his back and following the scent.

He walked slowly so as to not miss wherever the smell was coming from and when he turned the corner after hearing something like a timer going off he realized that it was drifting out through the open door of the Home Economics room. Curious and getting hungrier by the second, he approached the room with caution in case he startled the person on the inside or something.

'Who is…oh,' he thought to himself, peeking around the corner and stopping just before he entered the room when he saw the figure moving about the kitchen.

Tiana was bent over in front of the opened oven door, reaching her hand in with a toothpick and inserting it into one of the cupcakes. After waiting a second, she withdrew it and looked at the end of the toothpick to find it clean, the tell-tale sign that the cupcakes were ready to be pulled out of the oven. So she put on a pair of oven mitts and slid out two cupcake pans, turning quickly to place them on the racks to cool off before returning to close the door and turn off the oven.

"Oh god, these are going to be so good!" she whispered to herself in excitement, hovering over the yellow cupcakes and sniffing them gingerly, "I can't wait until they're done and I can take them home…if I can get them home without ruining them."

She peered out the window again and winced when lightening flashed as the rain pelted the window, trailing streaks across the glass that reflected off of her face. She sighed deeply, almost sadly, then turned to the counter that was facing the opened door behind which Riku was hiding, reaching for the bowl and spoon that was sitting there and returning to mixing some kind of thick, cream-colored substance. Riku watched her for several minutes, slightly mesmerized by her swift, fluid actions and becoming even more curious to know what she was mixing.

"Okay, this is ready to put in the bag…now where _is_ the bag?" she mumbled to herself, putting the bowl back down on the counter and turning towards the other counter behind her.

When she didn't find what she was looking for, she went around to the other side of the kitchen and disappeared from sight. Riku waited for a couple seconds until his curiosity got the better of him and he slowly entered the kitchen, shuffling quietly towards counter where the bowl and cupcakes were sitting. Teal eyes glancing around for the student baker to see if she was coming back yet, the young athlete placed his hands on the counter and leaned over to peer into the bowl, seeing some kind of very light brown frosting substance that smelled just as good as the cupcakes did. His mouth watered even more and his stomach let out an audible growl, one that made him flinch from the sheer volume of it. The cupcakes were the next to catch his attention and he slid over closer to the pans to sniff the delicious aroma of the food inside of them. He smiled when the sweet, warm scent flowed down his nostrils and, as silly as it sounds, into his heart where it made him feel happy.

"I didn't know she liked to bake like this," he whispered to himself, looking between the cupcakes and the frosting in the bowl.

"…AH!" Riku's head snapped up when he heard the surprised cry, his eyes immediately focusing on the startled form of Tiana as she came back around the corner, holding a frosting bag, "Oh my-dammit, Riku! You can't scare me like that! I nearly had a panic attack!"

She narrowed her eyes at him irritably as she stepped out from around the corner where she was hiding; momentarily frightened that someone was in there trying to hurt her. Again, those Lifetime movies messed with her head and made her very paranoid.

"Sorry, Tiana, I didn't mean to startle you," the silver-headed teen apologized, holding back a laugh lest it upset the student baker even more and she resorted to throwing things at him.

But she didn't; she simply just huffed before moving towards the counter and opening the frosting bag while picking up the bowl, "What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be home already?"

Riku didn't answer her at first as he watched her pour the contents of the bowl into the bag, big glops of frosting falling off the spoon and into the plastic and confusing him to a certain degree.

"Um, well, I just got out of practice," he answered, running a hand through the loose bangs that hung in front of his eyes.

Tiana looked at him and then up at the clock, a confused frown on her face when she saw the time; "Okay," she started slowly, looking back at him and then at the frosting dripping into the bag, "it's now 5:30. Doesn't practice end at 5 for you guys?"

"Well…yeah."

"So…shouldn't you be home by now? Or at least off campus?"

Riku chuckled at her questions, finding them a little cute with the tone of voice that she was using, "Just because I finished practice doesn't mean I have to rush home. There's no big hurry."

"…Oh."

Riku smiled at her, watching as she scooped the last big spoonful of frosting into the bag, put the spoon and bowl into the sink, and then turned to tie up the loose end of the bag before popping some kind of nozzle onto it. He placed his backpack on the ground and followed it with his sports bag before leaning his arms on the smooth surface of the counter.

"What about you? What are you still doing here?" he countered with a question of his own, a playful smirk spreading across his face.

Tiana peered up at him as she massaged the frosting in the bag, shaking some of her curls from her face as her eyes studied him. His was dressed down in workout clothes: a pair of black shorts, a white t-shirt, a black raincoat, and his long, silver hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. It was completely different from the formal-casual clothes she saw him wearing earlier that day: a long-sleeved black shirt underneath an army green button down shirt, dark jeans, and shoes. But that earring in his right ear was the same and it glinted in the fluorescent light of the kitchen, sparkling in her eyes.

"…I'm baking," she answered his question, putting the bag of frosting aside and scooting the cupcakes over to her while simultaneously reaching over to the cupboards in the corner to retrieve a plate.

"Right, but why aren't _you _home already? The last time I checked, you're not part of any athletic teams nor are you a member of any of the school clubs, so there's really no reason for you to still be here," he reasoned.

"Maybe I'm still here because I like baking in the school kitchen! Did you ever think about that?" she challenged, staring him down with one hand on her hip and the other on the counter.

Riku jumped a little at the sudden hardness of her voice, sitting up a little straighter, "Uh, no…I guess I didn't."

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Tiana rolled her eyes and began sliding the cupcakes out of the pan and onto the plate, the foil-wrappings around the base of the cupcakes crinkling a little. The basketball player relaxed when the ebony girl's burgundy eyes turned from him, allowing him to breathe easier as he leaned against the counter once more, watching as she placed the 12 cupcakes from one pan onto the plate and picked up the large bag of frosting.

"Is that seriously why you're still here, though? Just to bake? Can't you do this at home?" he inquired curiously, his eyes transfixed on the bag of frosting as Tiana began swirling the cream frosting on top the cupcakes, rolling it up until it made an arched point after three layers. Her movements were smooth and careful from the expert hands of a natural baker; Riku was entranced.

"I don't have a way home," she spoke quietly, too focused on what she was doing to even think about giving an attitude.

"You don't?"

"No. Lauren is usually my ride to and from school, but she's out sick today. I don't have any money for the bus and I would've walked home, but it was raining like crazy out there and my house is too far to walk in this rain. I guess I was just waiting to see if the rain would let up enough so I could just walk," she explained, already done with half the cupcakes and working on finishing the other half.

"And there's nobody at home to pick you up?" the young man pushed further, finally lifting his eyes from the process to watch Tiana herself.

She shook her head, "My grandmother's with a few of her friends at Bingo and won't be back 'till late."

"So you live with your grandmother, huh?"

Tiana didn't answer, but she did nod and continued with her work on the cupcakes. Within about 3 minutes, she was done frosting the first 12 cupcakes. She put the bag of frosting aside once more and moved to the large fridge, opening it to retrieve two bowls from the inside: one was large and round, holding fresh strawberry halves on the inside and the other was a littler smaller and square with some kind of red glaze filling it. She placed the two bowls on the counter and then opened a nearby drawer to pick up a small, silver scooping spoon.

"Why are you baking anyway?" Riku couldn't help but ask.

Tiana shrugged, "Because it calms me down. I was having a bit of a fit when I realized that I was stuck here because of the storm; baking just…makes me feel happier." She turned the spoon upside down and used the handle to make small indentations in the frosting tips.

Riku leaned down further until he was resting his chin on his arms in order to get a closer look at what she was doing; "…I didn't even know you liked to bake," he said quietly, tilting his head to the side.

Tiana gave a hollow laugh and shook her head, "Because you know so much about me already, right?"

The question was meant to be sarcastic, but it made Riku think and his brows furrowed from it, "I guess you're right. I really don't know that much about you."

The girl held back a laugh, shaking her head again as she scooped up the strawberry glaze with the spoon and poured a little into each indentation of the frosting until it flowed over and down the outside just enough to give it small, smooth rivers of red glaze; "But…"

'Maybe it's _time_ I got to know more about you.'

"But?" Tiana urged, finishing with the glaze and moving on to place the strawberry halves into the indentations in order to complete the dessert.

Riku stopped to think about how he would word his answer before actually speaking it aloud, lest he sound weird, but before he could even do that much, his stomach let out a mighty rumble once again. Tiana immediately stopped what she was doing as her head snapped up to stare at him with wide eyes filled with unabashed laughter. Then, she covered her mouth as her lips stretched into a not-so-well-hidden grin and a giggle escaped through the openings in her fingers. Riku blushed profusely and looked away quickly, cursing his stomach for its incredibly bad timing.

"Oh my god…you sound like you're starving! When was the last time you ate?" she asked with a huge smile on her face, obviously trying not to laugh too hard.

Riku shook his head, his fingers immediately latching onto his ear as he messed with his earring again, "I don't know. At lunch, I guess, but even then I didn't really eat. The food was less than desirable today."

"That's not good for you, ya know?"

"Tell me about it."

Here, Tiana couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up from her throat, the sound only becoming louder and more amused when Riku's stomach grumbled _again_. Taking pity on the poor boy who looked so miserable and so hungry, Tiana pushed the plate of cupcakes closer towards him and nodded her head.

"Eat one," she said, dark eyes twinkling with her laughter, "It's still nice and warm."

Riku stared at the cupcakes with a hungry light in his eye, "Really?"

She giggled again, "Go ahead!"

Riku glanced up at her before looking back at the cupcakes with his mouth watering. Gingerly, he reached out and picked one up, instantly feeling the warmth from the confectionary heating up his cold fingertips. Pulling the foil from the cupcake, he took a moment to smell it before finally just sinking his teeth into it.

He may as well have died and gone to Sugar Heaven!

The cupcake was warm and fluffy as he chewed it, almost pure sweet air with only the thick, solid foundation of the cream cheese frosting to keep it grounded in his mouth. The strawberry glaze was a magnificent touch to the dessert as it gave it its' final, sweet fruity flavor that made it a mind-blowing experience. Without wasting too much time, he polished off the rest of the cupcake in what looked like three bites to Tiana, the young man catching some of the frosting from the wrapper on his finger and slipping it into his mouth.

"So? What do you think? Good?" the young baker asked, almost with a shy and unsure air about her, as if she were afraid her dessert had failed to live up to expectation.

Riku was speechless for a few seconds, just worrying the girl more, before his eyes, shinning with a new sense of admiration for her, snapped up to meet hers; "Good? These cupcakes are amazing!" he exclaimed, his face alight with the brightness of a child given his favorite piece of candy, "I've never tasted anything so delicious before! I just…wow…you're an amazing baker, Tiana."

Said girl, who usually seemed so sure of herself yet so aloof and uncaring, actually seemed to become bashful as she looked at the counter with a blush coloring her ebony cheeks.

"Um…thanks," she murmured, already taking out the last batch of cupcakes from the second tray to begin their final stages of preparation.

Even though he was still buzzing with the sweetness of the delicious dessert, Riku was able to calm himself down to notice the shy change in the girl in front of him, how she averted her eyes to the counter immediately after receiving his praise and avoided eye contact. She was still avoiding eye contact as she began frosting the last batch of cupcakes, something that Riku found…adorable as her black curls fell around her head.

"May I have another?" he asked quietly, leaning down to try and get a glimpse of those eyes of hers.

She just nodded, but said nothing as she went about her work. Riku simply smiled as he grabbed another finished cupcake and bit into it, taking his time this time around so as to appreciate the flavor more while watching the young baker quietly as she finished up her work. 20 minutes later, Tiana was cleaning up; she grabbed a layered cupcake holder and placed 15 of the cupcakes into it before placing the entire holder in the fridge, followed by the remainder of the frosting and the two bowls of strawberry halves and glaze.

"It's almost 6:30 and it doesn't look like the storm will be letting up any time soon," she voiced to no one in particular, taking out her phone to check for messages before placing it on the counter, "Looks like I'll just have to walk."

"You can't walk home in this storm. It'll wash you away!" Riku argued, glancing worriedly out the window as another roll of thunder boomed in the sky and lightening flashed.

"I don't have any other choice," Tiana argued back, washing the dishes that she used and wiping down the counter once finished, "I have to get home so my grandma doesn't worry."

Riku stared sadly at her as she bent down to grab a container out from a cupboard under the counter, "…Let me take you home."

She stopped and peered up at him, thinking that he was just joking, but finding nothing but seriousness and kindness in his eyes. Still…

"No, that's okay," she answered, pulling out the container and placing it on the counter.

Riku blinked in surprise, "No? Tiana, you can't walk out in this rain!"

"I'll be fine," she insisted firmly, placing the remaining cupcakes in the container to take home and covering them up, "It's not a big deal. I'll just stick under the awnings of the stores in town; that'll keep me dry for most of the way."

Riku was flabbergasted by her refusal, confused behind any sane thought on why she would decline a ride home in this torrential thunder and lightning storm. He couldn't let her walk home in this, he would worry too much! But she would just refuse even harder if he tried to push her too much.

But…

"Okay, backpack…cupcakes…phone? Where did I leave my phone?" she muttered to herself, searching her pockets and then around the kitchen.

Riku spotted her phone at the same time she did, but since he was closer he was able to snatch it up faster. When he did this, Tiana's eyes grew wide and then flashed with irritation.

"Riku, give me back my phone," she demanded firmly, holding her hand out.

The young man just shook his head and held up her phone so she couldn't reach as he smirked, "Nope, I don't think I will."

Her eyes narrowed into an angry glare, a look that scared him and could probably scare the crap out of Mr. Xemnas, the school's fearless principle, if she turned it up one more notch; "Riku, I'm serious. Give. Me. Back. My. Phone!" she demanded once more, her voice laced with unbridled anger.

'Now or never Riku,' the silver-haired teen thought to himself as he grabbed his backpack and sports bag and slung them both over his shoulder while inching towards the door.

"If you want it, then come get it!" he declared as he shot out the door and down the hall.

Tiana was stunned for a mere second before she bristled in anger and sprinted after him, "Riku! Come back here with my phone!"

She saw him at the corner of the hallway, standing there and taunting her with her cell phone up over his head. He smirked mischievously at her and chuckled.

"Come on, Tiana. If you really want it back, you'll run faster than that," he told her, disappearing around the corner.

She grit her teeth tightly as she took up the challenge and raced after him, "You damn jerk! I'm going to kill you for stealing my phone! I can't believe you!"

Her threats were only met with more laughter from the young man that stopped at every corner, as if waiting for her to catch up a little more, and in the middle of the long hallways. Pretty soon, the chase came to an end when they got to the back of the school that overlooked the parking lot, a few cars still scattered here and there of students that stayed late to work on projects or teachers that were still in the classroom, grading papers. Riku stopped just before the glass doors and turned to see Tiana rounding that last corner, panting from all the running she did.

"You…damn…asshole," she said between breaths, placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

Riku smiled apologetically as he approached her, crouching a little to be almost eye to eye, "My basketball coach says that you can catch your breath faster if you stand straight with your arms over head and take deep breaths through your nose and let them out your mouth. You get more air into your lungs that way."

"I don't give a damn what your coach says! Just give me back my phone!" she demanded, standing back up with her hand outstretched.

Riku smiled at her reply, doing as he was told and handing over the cellular device which was snatched from him as soon as it was closer to her. Tiana looked down at it and did a few, quick checks to make sure he didn't tamper with it or look through her messages. When she was sure that everything was in place, she raised her eyes to meet his as she narrowed them suspiciously.

"What was that all about, anyway? Why did you take my phone?" she questioned, stuffing her cell in her pocket and holding the container of cupcakes while staring at the taller male.

Riku's smile was kind as he beckoned her closer and pointed out to the parking lot where a red and black 2011 Mustang sat waiting for its owner to return to put it to use. Tiana blinked at the car as Riku's voice flowed through her ears.

"Since we're both here, I might as well give you a ride home. It'll be better than getting wet, don't you think?"

Her eyes jumped up and she looked at him blankly, took in his relaxed stance, his convincing smile and his kind eyes as his earring caught the glare of the lights above them. She blinked and rolled her eyes when she understood what he had done.

"Really? All of that just to convince me to let you take me home? That's, like, over kill," she stated flatly, putting all of her weight on one leg while she glanced off to the side.

Riku shrugged, "I had to think of something or you would have just told me that you would've been fine walking home in this monster of a storm."

"Well, I would've!" she countered firmly, close to stomping her foot like a child.

"No point in arguing now. Just let me do you this kindness, Tiana. It's the least I can do after you fed me," Riku urged, wanting her to say yes.

He wasn't ready to let her out of his sight yet.

She said nothing for a moment as she stared at the wall next to her and for a moment, he was convinced she would insist that she walk home anyway, but she soon sighed in defeat and nodded her head.

"Fine! I'll let you take me home," she mumbled, making the athlete smile in relief as she mumbled something else and started for the door.

Riku's hand on her shoulder stopped her; "Now what?" she questioned, getting a little tired of his games.

He chuckled at the aggravated tone in her voice, but said nothing as he put his bags to the side and slid out of his rain jacket. Tiana watched him in confusion until he took the container from her and set it on the ground only to stand back up and hold the jacket out for her to put on. She put her hands up and shook her head.

"Oh, no you don't. I can handle getting a little wet, Riku! It's not that big of a deal!" she cried, refusing to put on the jacket.

"The car is in the middle of the parking lot, Tiana, and you'll be soaking wet by the time we get there. I won't take a chance with you getting sick if I can help it," Riku retorted, holding it out to her again and stepping closer.

She stepped back, "I don't need the jacket. Besides, it probably wouldn't fit me anyway and it'll be uncomfortable for both of us."

It was here that the young man, who was very patient with her up until this point, finally rolled his eyes in his own sense of irritation and narrowed his eyes at her; "Will you stop that?" he snapped impatiently, making Tiana wince a little from the strength in his voice, "I told you already, you're fine just the way you are, so stop worrying so much about it."

After making her take off her backpack, he swung the jacket over her shoulders and Tiana compliantly, though grudgingly, put her arms through the sleeves and allowed the young man to zip up the jacket and pull the hood over her head to keep her dry. He smiled in satisfaction and put his hands on her shoulders, making her look up.

"There, perfect," he whispered, slipping one of his hands up to rest it on her head, "See? You're not too big for it at all. In fact, I think the jacket is too big for you."

He chuckled as she looked away and pouted, the boy leaning down to pick up the container and backpack and hand them to her before turning to get his bags; "What about you? You're not wearing a jacket now and you're wearing less than I am!" Tiana argued, not wanting to give up her point.

"I'll be fine," Riku answered easily as he slung the bags over his shoulder and secured them.

Tiana became defiant and challenged him; "What the hell? How come it's fine for you, but it's not fine for me?"

Riku turned to her with a certain light in his eyes that made her stop her questioning and just stare at him. He smiled secretly, put his hand on the small of her back as he opened the door to the outside, leaned down a little, and said,

"Because you're a lady."

With that, he urged her out the door and into the pouring rain. The two of them sprinted towards the car, though it was more of a run-shuffle as Tiana fought to see her way from underneath the low-hanging hood that protected her head from the downpour. Riku's clothes were soaked through almost instantly, but he made no complaints as he hurried them along to safety. He unlocked the car doors and opened Tiana's for her first, letting her slide in quickly before he closed the door and ran around to his side where he hopped in and closed the door. They both sat there, Riku drenched and Tiana shivering from the cold despite the jacket she had on. The young man noticed her shivering and immediately turned on the heat and put on the defroster when the windows began to fog up from their hot breaths and the cold outside.

"You're soaked," she whispered, staring at his wet clothes.

Riku looked over at her, saw her wipe her face of the rain that actually pelted her, and smiled while turning on the car and putting it in drive, "Like I said, I'll be fine."

With that, he pulled out of the school parking lot and drove out onto the main street. Tiana directed him where to go, but other than the directions she gave him, there was no real talking from either person. To say it was a bit uncomfortable would be an understatement. About 15 minutes later, Riku was pulling up in front of a comfortable looking two-story house, the male peering out the front windshield up at the house.

"Wow. Nice place," he commented, blinking in awe.

"Yeah, it's comfy," Tiana agreed before turning her eyes to him, "Thank you…for…being so persistent in wanting to give me a ride home. I don't like to bother people that much and would have just walked home in this crazy storm."

Riku's smile was gentle as he nodded, "No problem."

He watched her unzip his jacket and slip it off of her body, his eyes momentarily transfixed to the firm curve of her breasts that were made apparent by her tight shirt. He snapped his eyes away when she held out his jacket to him.

"Thanks," he whispered hoarsely, a little confused by his own actions, but ignoring them for now, "Will you be at the game tonight?"

"Me? No, not this time, but I think Kairi and Namine will be there," she answered, looking out the window.

"Oh," he mumbled, a flash of disappointment flitting in his chest, "You don't have to stay away because of Axel, you know? He's pretty much over it and will do better to watch what he says next time."

"This has nothing to do with Axel," Tiana insisted firmly, maybe a little too firmly, as she sighed, "I just…don't like going out that often, okay? That's always been my behavior."

The two were silent again, the sounds of the rain pelting the car muffled by the car itself as the two teenagers just sat in a somewhat awkward silence. Tiana was the first to break it.

"Well…good luck at tonight's game," she bid him with a strained smile as she lifted her bag into her lap and prepared to exit the car.

"Yeah, thanks," Riku replied with a small smile himself, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

Tiana looked at him for a second, as if trying to make a crucial decision, before placing her backpack on the floor again and taking off the lid of the container. While under Riku's curious gaze, she carefully lifted a cupcake out of the container and placed it gingerly in one of his cup holders, a smile on her face.

"Something to take on the road; since you liked them so much," she explained, giggling at the excited light she saw in his eyes.

"Thanks, Tiana. They really are delicious," he complimented her, resisting the urge to just delve into the sweet treat right away.

"Hehehe, thank you," she replied bashfully and looked into his eyes.

Then stopped. That's when she finally noticed it, the hypnotic quality that his blue-green eyes had only this time, there was something else in them. She became lost in his teal-colored eyes, her body shivering from the gentleness of his gaze on her and suddenly, the car was too small for them and there wasn't enough air for her to breathe.

"Well, good luck at the game tonight!" she said hurriedly, covering the container once more before grabbing her backpack and opening up the door, "Thanks again for the ride, Riku, see you on Monday!"

"Uh, bye-" SLAM "…Tiana."

The girl was already in front of her door that was tucked away to the right of the driveway, covered by a small pathway that led up to it. Tiana unlocked the door and stumbled inside under the gaze of Riku watching her, the girl shutting the door closed behind her and breaking away from his sight. The young man sat in his car for a long minute, just watching the front door with a confused feeling filling up his chest. The smell of the cupcake wafted in the car and he felt calmer, happier, like a piece of Tiana was left behind for him. He looked at the dessert and smiled, chuckling while shaking his head.

"That girl," he said to himself before putting his car in drive, backing out of the driveway, and taking off down the street back to his own home to get ready for that night's game against the Radiant Garden Saints.

**End Chapter**

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><p><strong>Crimsonwings92: <strong>Hehehe! How cute? By the way, Boston Cream Cheese cupcakes are awesome, if you guys ever come across it, you should definitely give it a try! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I really hope you guys review. Ciao!


	4. Chapter 4: Our Saturday Afternoon Pt 1

**Crimsonwings92: **I realize that this chapter is quite a few weeks late in going up, but that's because I was trying to write more chapters so I don't get too far behind in this story. So, I just want to say I'm sorry to the two readers that reviewed this story and to the others that made it a favorite for them to read. I didn't want to make you guys wait too long and I'm going to try harder to avoid that. I also want to say thank you to the two readers that reviewed because, honestly, I like getting reviews. They make me feel that someone actually enjoys the story instead of having me guess that they may or may not like it, lol. Anyway, I digress. Here is the next chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it!

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me.

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><p><strong>Food and Basketball<strong>

**Chapter 4: Our Saturday Afternoon Pt. 1**

I was back in the shower, the sanctuary that I was craving since I was both freezing from the cold wind of outside and confused from my encounter with Riku. I pretty much lost the bet that Lauren didn't even know we had going, but I didn't care really as I replayed the afternoon's events over and over in my head, like some kind of movie that interested me a little too much. I remembered how surprised I was when I turned the corner in the kitchen and found Mr. Star Athlete on the other side, staring curiously at the cupcakes and cream-cheese frosting I had just finished making; I remember how his eyes lit up when he bit into that first finished cupcake, his praise making me blush like I usually do when someone critiques my culinary work; I remembered how gentle and sweet he was with me when putting the jacket on me to make sure that I would stay dry as we ran out in the rain to his car; I remembered his bright eyes…

I shook my head and dove under the spray of the hot water, letting it wash away every single thought I had in my head while it did the same to the soap on my body, but there was one thought that just refused to be erased, just one name.

_Riku._

'Ugh! Just forget about him! It was nothing! HE is nothing!' I shouted in my head, grabbing my shampoo and squirting it into my hair where I lathered it up, 'He was just being nice so quite it!'

As much as I said that to myself, another little voice in the back of my head argued something completely different. Sighing, I decided to leave that thought, and that voice, alone and enjoyed the rest of my shower. I spent probably a little over 30 minutes in the shower before I finally cut the flow and stepped out into the steamy openness of my bathroom. I wrapped a towel around my bare body and another one around my wet hair before exiting the bathroom and into the safety of my room where I got dressed in a pair dark blue flannel pajama bottoms and a black tank top.

"Time to check in on the patient," I mumbled aloud, propping myself up on the many pillows that littered my queen sized bed as I pulled out my phone and dialed Lauren's number.

I waited as the phone rang and wondered if she was asleep when someone answered, that someone being my still very sick best friend; **"Ello?"** her nasally voice greeted me, making me giggle into my hand.

"Hey, Sick and Dying! How are you feeling?" I asked her jokingly, hearing her sniff.

"**That's not funny, Tiana! I feel terrible still!"** she cried, sniffling loudly before coughing, **"This cold is such a bitch!"**

She coughed again, hard, and the sound made me flinch, "Wow, you do sound bad. Are you taking your medicine?"

"**Yeah. Mom went and got me some Nyquil and told me to take it in about an hour so it will knock me out and help me sleep,"** she answered, taking a moment to blow her nose, **"Hey, so how was your day? Anything interesting happen?"**

My mind immediately flashed to the time I spent with Riku in the kitchen of the Home Economics room, my cheeks heating up and making me shake my head; "Nope, nothing at all. Same boring classes that seem to get worse every year," I answered nonchalantly with a frown; my classes really were terrible.

"**So no run ins with Mr. Tall, Pale and Sexy?"** she teased and I rolled my eyes.

"Will you stop that already? Whatever happened between me and Riku was just a onetime deal and that was it. Nothing else is going on," I insisted, crossing my arms over my chest.

"**Sure,"** she said flatly before adding, **"**_**Did **_**something happen with Riku today because you didn't say no?"**

I blinked and wondered how she was able to focus on what I didn't say when her mind was foggier than the city of Beijing. I knew she would just die to hear that Riku and I spent a little time together after school today, but I didn't feel like telling her right then as I seemed to be getting extremely tired all of a sudden and just wanted to close my eyes.

"**Tiana?"**

"Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. I'm not telling you until you get better," I told her, teasing her with my little secret.

"**WHAT? You can't do that!"** she cried, sounding devastated.

"I can do whatever I want, girlie. It's a free country," I retorted.

"**Freedom is not free!"**

"Don't start spewing that patriotic crap at me. I WILL hang up on you!"

"**Fine. Sunday! You tell me what happened on Sunday!"** she demanded, sounding very determined and I raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know you'll be better by Sunday?" I inquired, my eyes already getting droopy.

"**Trust me, I will be! And we'll go out and hang around downtown. Maybe get some new boots or something for the coming fall and winter, go it?"**

"In my hand, Peter Pan," I answered obediently, wanting to get off the phone, "I'll talk to you later, chick. Get better and get some more sleep, okay?"

"**I will. Remember: Sunday!"** she reminded, which I agreed to, before she hung up.

I sighed and clicked off as well, letting my hand and my phone fall to the mattress as I laid there staring up at the ceiling. I was very tired now, probably from being so worried on how I was going to get home earlier, and all I wanted to do was sleep. Turning over, I turned off my table lamp and threw myself into the comfort of darkness while snuggling under the warmth of my covers. I looked at the clock; it was nearing 8 right then which meant that Riku would be starting his game soon. I can imagine him now, face serious with focus and determination to win the game, his arms and legs rigid as he prepared for offense and defense, his strong voice shouting across the court to get the attention of his team members or to psych out the other team players as one of them went up for a shot. I then remembered when we were in the car, how he seemed…disappointed when I said that I wasn't going to be at the game and I suddenly felt bad, which is stupid because it's not like he invited me to go! No, he didn't need me there. Probably didn't want me there; he was just asking to make friendly conversation.

"It's no big deal," I mumbled to myself, sleep washing over me and my mind succumbing to my dreams, "It's not…a big…"

_It was dark with only one spotlight fixed on me; I couldn't see a thing, try as I might to make sense of my surroundings. I wanted to call out, to see if anyone was out there, but I couldn't. It was like my mouth was glued shut, but for some reason, I didn't panic. _

_Another light._

_Something flashed to the left of my vision and I turned to see that another light had fixed itself onto a basketball hoop that looked like one of the ones in our gymnasium. I tilted my head to the side, my brows furrowing in confusion, until a basketball rolled towards me and stopped right at my feet. Without really thinking about what I was doing, I reached down and picked up the dark orange ball and held it in my hands, staring at it for a long moment. Then I faced the basket and threw the ball up; it hit the rim but did not go in. It bounced off the rim and fell back to earth, the sound of the rubber ball hitting the floor echoing in my ears. The ball rolled back towards me and I picked it up again, raising my arms and shooting it up. I was way off this time around, not even touching the rim, but instead hitting it to the right of the little square on the backboard. Again, the ball rolled back towards me and again, I picked it up to shoot it._

_Over and over and over I did this, trying and failing every time to make a basket and I felt myself becoming angry, so angry that I was nearly in tears that I couldn't make one stupid shot. More lights turned on and I just barely registered the shadowed outline of other people circling me, watching me fail. I didn't care about them, I barely even acknowledged their presence; the only thing that I focused on was getting the ball into the basket. No one but me was moving, no one came to help me, to show me what I was doing wrong and I didn't ask them, too afraid of their judgment to ask for any help. So I remained alone, picking up and shooting the ball only to miss it again and again, until finally I just couldn't take it and threw the ball as hard as I could at the basket, watched it hit the backboard and then fly over my head into the darkness somewhere. I remained in that same spot illuminated by the spotlight and just let the tears of frustration roll down my cheeks for what seemed like forever._

_I heard a noise then and raised my head a little to see the basketball rolling back towards me until it hit the toe of my shoe. Wordlessly, I bent down to pick it and held it in my hands, just staring at it and making no attempt to make a shot. Then, for the first time since I've been there in that dark place with all those people around me, I opened my mouth._

"_What do I do now?" I whispered quietly to myself, staring at the ball._

"_Now, you try again-"_

_I blinked at the voice that flowed through my ears, watching as two strong hands came and settled over my dark ones gently and a warm bodily presence pressed against my back, letting me know that someone was there._

"_And this time, I'll help you," the voice said with a tone of hidden promise._

_I just nodded and let that person guide me; "First, you want to hold the ball until it feels comfortable in your hands," it said, turning the basketball in my hands until I felt it fit in my palms perfectly, "Okay? Does that feel good?"_

_I nodded and the voice chuckled in approval._

"_Good. Now," the person bent down behind me and moved my feet, "Since you're right handed, you want to point your right foot towards the basket to guide the shot and move your left foot just slightly behind it."_

_My feet were spread just inside of the usual shoulder-length apart and then separated like the voice said. I was starting to feel comfortable now, everything was starting to make sense. The person stood back up and I felt hands on the back of my thighs, pushing my knees out until they were bent._

"_Now you bend your knees and lift your arms up," it advised, helping to raise my arms to the proper position just over my head, "And when you shoot the ball, curve your hand like you're flicking it and give it an arch. Try it."_

_The presence backed away from me, leaving me to do this on my own. I hesitated and bit my lip, suddenly becoming scared that I might miss again._

"_Don't worry, I'm right here…you can do this," the voice comforted me and suddenly, I didn't feel scared anymore._

_Nodding, I bent my legs a little lower, raised my hands over my head, aimed for the square and shot the ball. I held my breath as it soared through the air and for a minute, I thought I would miss it anyway, but then it hit the rim and bounced up before slipping into the basket with a 'swoosh' sound. I smiled, I smiled big, like from ear to ear, and I clapped my hands. _

"_I did it! I did it!" I cheered, happy for myself and my joyful cries were met with a warm chuckle._

"_See? I knew you could do it," the voice praised and suddenly, it was right behind me again, strong hands on my shoulders and that comforting voice speaking in my ear, "It's alright to ask for help sometimes, Tiana. It's okay to trust someone else. They won't always let you down, if you just give them a chance."_

_I stared at the ground beneath my feet, letting the voice soothe me while one of my hands raised up to grip the strong hand resting on my shoulder. That hand immediately encased mine and a rough thumb caressed my fingers._

"_Just give me a chance and I'll take care of you," was the last thing it said before it left me, taking its warmth along with it._

_I gasped and whirled around; wanting to call for it to wait, but it was already too late. The person was gone and so were the shadows that had been watching me and even the light on the basketball hoop was gone, leaving me all alone again. Alone in this dark place…because that's what I had chosen._

**Sunday: Audience POV**

"Which do you think? Hmm? Red or blue?"

Tiana looked up from the rack of long-sleeved dresses she had been sifting through when she heard Lauren's question, shaking loose black curls from her face so she could see the two articles of clothing better. Lauren presented to her best friend a choice between a red long-sleeved V-neck that came with a black stretch belt with the buckle shaped like a heart and the same shirt in dark blue and a round belt-buckle. Tiana bit her lip and titled her head to the side, taking both shirts into consideration on how they would look on her best friend, before pointing to the blue one.

"Try the blue one. It would go great with those earrings you got over the summer," she suggested, shrugging her shoulders as she went back to sifting through the rack of clothes.

Lauren looked at her friend with wide eyes for a minute before she gasped and stomped her dainty little feet in excitement, "Oh! You mean the snowflake earrings that I bought at that little boutique? You're right! I love those!"

She then draped the shirt over her arm and continued looking through some more clothes. It was Sunday afternoon and, in contrast to Friday's terrible storm and Saturday's gloomy clouds, the sun was bright and warm this day with a cool breeze to soothe the heat. True to her word, Lauren had gotten over her cold by Sunday, a quick recovery that Tiana questioned a little bit, and dragged Tiana out of her house for a lazy day out on the town. They were currently in Fashionista, a cute little store that carried sizes for both small and big girls at reasonable prices which made it a favorite store among the two best friends.

Tiana moved on to a different rack and instantly saw something that she liked: a purple knit jacket that just draped over her body. She took it off the rack and showed Lauren with a satisfied smile on her face.

"What do you think of this one?" she asked her, "It's only $7.99."

Lauren eyed it and giggled, waving her hand at it, "Oh, I love it! You should get it! It would go great with that black dress you have in your closet with those purple tights you bought, but never wore, and the new black boots you just got at Payless!"

"Hey…you're right! That does make a cute outfit," Tiana gushed, draping the jacket over her arm and shaking her head excitedly, "God, I love this store."

"You and me both, girlie," Lauren giggled, looking through a rack of skinny jeans before she raised her eyes to Tiana and then back down again, "So, um…you gonna tell me now?"

"Tell you what?" the other girl questioned distractedly as she pulled out a white, long-sleeved shirt with a happy face on it.

"What happened on Friday between you and Riku," Lauren explained lightly, as if it were a regular, everyday topic.

Tiana stopped and snapped her head around to eye her best friend, who was ignoring the look candidly while looking through the skinny jeans. Tiana rolled her eyes.

"Nothing really happened," she answered.

"Oh, come on! That's a lie!"

"All we did was talk!" the accused girl caved, sighing loudly and rolling her eyes to the ceiling, "Okay? He came into the kitchen where I was baking and we talked!"

Lauren tilted her head to the side as she watched her best friend distractedly moving from one rack to the next, "Why were you in the kitchen? Did something not good happen? Or were you just bored?"

Tiana shrugged, "Well, I didn't go to school prepared for a storm and I didn't have a ride, nor did I have money for the bus so I was kind of freaking out, thinking that I was stranded at the school overnight or something."

"Did you _walk _home? Tia!"

"I didn't walk home!" she exclaimed, throwing her hand in the air, "I got a ride, okay?"

"Oh…from who? The Woolson Twins?" Lauren questioned, tilting her head to the other side now.

Tiana became quiet and didn't answer at first, "Um…no…"

"Did Granda pick you up?"

"…No."

Lauren was confused by then, momentarily stumped at who her best friend had gotten a ride with when she caught sight of the bashful actions of said girl: the way she kept looking to the side, the way she chewed on her bottom lip, the way the tips of her ears started to get red. That's when Lauren realized it and a large, face-splitting grin spread across her lips.

"You got a ride…with _Riku_…didn't you?" she questioned in an excited whisper, her voice wobbling from the strain of wanting to scream out.

"Lauren…calm yourself," Tiana warned a minute too late as her best friend let out a loud, girly squeal of excitement that startled the employees and other customers of the store.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmyGOD!" she chanted, hopping from one foot to the next and grabbing Tiana's hands when said girl tried to stop her, "I knew it! I so knew it! He likes you, he totally does! There's no denying it now! And I know you like him! I know you do!"

"You don't know anything, Lauren, but what I know is that you need to calm down before you get us kicked out of here forever," the burgundy-eyed girl hissed fiercely, smiling reassuringly at one of the employees who looked rather worried.

"What did you guys do in the car, huh? Did you share an intimate moment? Did he lean in and kiss you slowly? Did he pounce on you out of passion? Or you on him?" Lauren rattled off, too excited to really bring herself down, "You guys got freaky huh? Am I going to be an auntie?"

"NO!" Tiana exclaimed loudly before checking herself and lowering her voice to a whisper, "No, Lauren, you're not going to be an auntie because Riku and I didn't do anything in his car. He just drove me home and dropped me off, THAT'S IT! There was no kissing and no pouncing and no getting freaky!"

"Uh huh," Lauren mumbled slyly, licking her top lip as she stared Tiana in the eye, "Maybe not now, but it will."

"I'm not even listening to you anymore; you are just talking all kinds of nonsense right now," Tiana dismissed, moving on to a rack for plus-sized skinny jeans to the sound of Lauren's giggles and snickers.

Their time at the Fashionista came to end when they went through their items to see what they could afford before heading up to the register. They made their purchases and left the store happier than they were when they first went in with a couple bags full of new clothes. Tiana and Lauren entertained themselves further by walking around and looking in store windows at all the new items that had come in. They eventually settled in front of the large water fountain at the center of the downtown plaza with cups of gelato, giggling and gossiping and relaxing in the warm afternoon sun.

_(Party rock is in the house tonight/ Everybody just have a good time/ And we gonna make you lose your mind/ Everybody just have a good time)_

"Oh! Oh my goodness," Lauren squealed when her cell phone began playing her favorite song, the girl flapping her hands as she tried to set her gelato down only for Tiana to take it so she can answer her phone, "Oh my…Hello?"

Her face was blank for a moment as the person on the other side talked then the biggest smile ever seen broke out on her face, which made Tiana narrow her eyes curiously at her.

"Oh, Demyx, hey!" she greeted, barely registering the wide-eyed look her best friend was giving her, "No, I'm not busy. What's up?...Oh, the instructions for our Computer class? Yeah, I remember them…"

"Hey, hey!" Tiana whispered, waving her hand to get Lauren's attention, "Is that Demyx Crolin? The guitar player?"

"Uh huh," Lauren nodded distractedly, trying to listen to her best friend and the guy on the phone.

"What's he doing calling you?" Tiana pestered, whispering with a hidden giggle in her voice.

Lauren just waved her off, trying to pay attention to what Demyx was saying, "Oh, uh huh! Yeah, actually it's pretty easy! I'm already half way done!...Yeah…"

"Hey, hey, hey! What's he doing calling you?" she pushed, then she gasped loudly, "Is he the person that brought you your homework on Friday? What's going on between you two? Oh my god!"

The girl with the braids gave her best friend a crazy look, becoming irritated that she couldn't hear Demyx talking. This didn't stop Tiana as she slid in close to Lauren with a sly smile.

"So how many nieces and nephews should I be expecting?"

"Shut up!" Lauren cried, whacking Tiana's gelato spoon out of the cup and effectively smearing some on the girl's face.

When she realized what she had done, her jaw dropped open in disbelief before she covered her mouth to suppress a laugh. Tiana had closed her eyes after she was assaulted, feeling the cold, sticky treat start to trickle down her cheek and towards her mouth and neck.

"I'm sorry," Lauren mouthed before getting up and walking around to the other side of the fountain, "What? No, sorry Demyx, my friend was distracting me so I had to shut her up. Now, what was the question?"

Tiana watched her friend walk away from the corner of her eye before she dug into her pocket to pull out one of the napkins she nabbed from Ive's Gelato Shoppe, using said napkin to wipe the chocolate gelato from her mouth.

"Mmhmm, getting on my case about some stupid guy, but apparently gets all abusive when I make one little comment," she mumbled under her breath, pulling out an extra spoon to use for the rest of her gelato.

"Tiana?"

Spoon full of gelato frozen in her mouth, owner of said name looked up when someone called her, eyes visibly widening and heart annoyingly starting to beat faster. Riku stood in front of the girl dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a light blue shirt and white kicks. His dog-tags clinked together when he moved and the sun glinted off of them, a light that matched the light flashing from his earring and his teal colored eyes. An amused smile adorned his face.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked her curiously.

Tiana blinked rapidly and involuntarily swallowed her mouthful of gelato, finding herself without words for once in her life; "Well, uh…I was just…ya know. Oh, for Christ sake," she stammered before smacking herself against her head, amusing the silver-haired boy all the more, "I was just hanging out with my best friend and enjoying the warm weather. There won't be much of it, you know, since we're in the fall season and winter is just around the corner."

"Heh, that is true," Riku agreed, sidestepping the many bags of purchases that belonged to Tiana and Lauren in order to sit in the place the missing girl once occupied.

Tiana watched him closely, burgundy eyes curious, "What about you? What are you doing out here all by your lonesome?"

Riku chuckled at her wording, shaking his head and moving aside the silver bangs that hung loosely in front of his face, "Well, I was hanging out with one of the guys from the team, but then we were kind of swarmed by a bunch of girls and I ducked out."

"Really? _You _willingly ducked out of an opportunity to be with _girls_? Of all the things," she inquired incredulously, scratching the back of her head as she crossed one leg over the other.

The young man blinked his eyes in confusion as he turned to face her, "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Because it's surprising."

"Why?"

"Because it is!"

"Because I'm an athlete and you think that all athletes like to have all kinds of attention on them from the opposite sex, right?" he challenged, narrowing his eyes a little.

Tiana said nothing as she averted her gaze away from the piercing teal color of Riku's eyes, quickly scooping a spoonful of her cold treat up and into her mouth in order to keep herself from talking. Her cheeks burned from embarrassment since Riku pretty much hit the nail on the head. Said male sighed and looked away from her, fingers curling into a loose fist of agitation.

"Not all of us male athletes are like that, you know?" he voiced lightly, peering at her from the side to watch her reaction as he fiddled with his earring.

"I know," she answered, looking down into her cup.

"If you know, then why react the way you did?"

"Because I haven't met anyone that has shown me otherwise, okay?" she all but snapped, lifting her face so her eyes connected with his, "I know that not every athlete is the same, but regardless, I haven't met a guy that wasn't stereotypically cocky and bigheaded, okay? Then I met you, so sorry for being the victim of social prejudice."

This time, it was Riku who blinked in surprise at her confession, agitation withering away when he saw the defensive look in Tiana's eyes. He was amazed at how fast she jumped to defend herself, how quick she was to make sure that no one could really blame her for anything when it wasn't even her fault. Was she always like this?

Tiana sat back and looked into her cup of gelato again, scooping some more of the treat into her mouth to calm her nerves. Riku smiled gently and put his hand on her knee, making her look at him again.

"Hey, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to get snappy with you," he apologized, looking at the ground, "I guess I was a little annoyed because of the girls from earlier. They were all squawking and squealing at me while running their hands all over me. They basically tried to molest me!"

Tiana choked on a giggle, covering her mouth with her hand as a small cough escaped and she cleared her throat, "That's so funny."

"I can't believe you're laughing at my distress right now! I'm a victim of sexual harassment!" Riku cried, sitting up straighter and his face turning serious in order to persuade her; on the inside, though, he was laughing, too, at the situation.

Tiana knew this and laughed freely, "So call the police if you feel so violated."

"You have no sympathy for me, do you?"

"Awww, I have sympathy for you!" she corrected him, patting his head lightly and making him smirk, "I'm very sympathetic to the fact that the idea of having any girl you want bothers you."

"There is just no mercy from you, is there?" Riku inquired playfully as he reached his hand out and tickled her side, earning a surprised cry as Tiana tried to scoot away from his assaulting hand while laughing.

"Stop! Stopstopstop! Oh my, god, stop!" she demanded, turning to use her feet to bat him away since her hand was occupied with holding her gelato.

Riku and Tiana laughed together, both settling back to sit properly before they drew any more strange stares to them. Unbeknownst to them, though, Lauren had finally finished her conversation on the phone and was coming back around the fountain to Tiana when she spotted Riku already sitting with her. Stopping on a dime and preventing herself from squealing in excitement, she waited and analyzed the situation. She had teased her best friend before about how the silver-haired point guard of the basketball team seemed infatuated with her, but never really had any evidence for herself to go off of. Not until this very moment as she watched Riku discreetly put his arm around the back of the bench, his hand resting quite near Tiana's other shoulder and he seemed focused on every word she was saying. And Tiana herself didn't seem to mind the close proximity between herself and Riku as she smiled and laughed with him. Lauren was just beside herself with glee and didn't want their time together to end. Good thing she had a plan in mind already; so, straightening up and making it seem as if she had to hurry off somewhere, she quickly made her way to the couple on the bench.

"Oh, hey Lauren. Is everything cool?" Tiana asked her best friend as soon as she saw her.

"Hey, girlie! Hey Riku! Yeah, everything's fine, but look, I gotta get going okay? Demyx is struggling with our computer assignment and asked me to go over and help him out so I'm going to leave now," Lauren explained, setting about picking up her and Tiana's bags.

"Oh, okay. I'll go with you," Tiana said, preparing to get up.

Lauren stopped her, "No, no, no. You'll just get in the way really and, besides, it's somewhat of a long process and you'll just be sitting around his house with nothing to do and I can't do that to you."

"Well, then, take me home," Tiana suggested next, confused by Lauren's behavior.

Again, Lauren shook her head, "No way, you need to enjoy this day! You had a cold, rough day on Friday and did nothing in your house yesterday and who knows how long this nice weather will last before the cold really sets in? Enjoy your day and hang out with Riku!"

Riku and Tiana looked at each other then looked back at Lauren as she stood up with all of their bags in her hands. She smiled sweetly at the two with a certain gleam in her eye that Tiana had a sneaking suspicion about, before she waved and giggled, "Well, Ciao!"

Then she turned and was off, Tiana sputtering after her.

"W-Wait, Lauren! My bags!"

"I'll drop them off at your house later! Bye! Have fun!"

At the pace she was strutting, Lauren was gone in less than a minute, leaving her best friend and the very handsome basketball star alone together in the plaza. Tiana sighed and put her hand to her forehead, shaking her black curls as she mumbled under her breath.

"That girl will be the death of me, I swear."

"Lauren's a pretty interesting character," Riku commented, scratching his cheek with his finger.

"Oh, trust me, she's a lot more than just _interesting_," Tiana replied, rolling her eyes, "What do we do now?"

Riku chuckled and stood up to face her, "Well, she's right. It is a beautiful day and we don't know how long we'll have days like this. If Friday is anything to go by, not very long I think; we should make the best of it."

"Oh? And do what?"

There was a secret behind his smile as he held his hand out to her, "Whatever we want."

Tiana stared at his hand and then up at his face, those blue-green eyes drawing her in again. She wanted to fight that feeling, wanted to keep herself from falling into those eyes of his for fear of what would actually happen, but the longer he looked at her, the longer he smiled at her, the more she stopped caring.

She gingerly put her hand in his, "Okay."

**End Chapter**

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><p><strong>Crimsonwings92: <strong>This was fun! Trying something new with how I write romance; don't want it to be too mushy, ya know? Cuz I know some people get tired of that. Anyway! Please review and tell me that you want this story to continue! Thanks so much! See ya next chapter! Ciao!


	5. Chapter 5: Our Saturday Afternoon Pt 2

**Crimsonwings92: **Hehehe, two weeks I think since I last updated. That's not that bad, I don't think and hey, I actually have the next chapter ready to go, but I think a schedule of once a week is good as long as I have the next chapter ready to go. Anyway, I want to give great thanks to **XXTakaraXX, TheGabification, **and** Sarah K.R., **for supporting me and actually reviewing! Thanks a bunch, you guys! You're super great and I hope to keep your interest in this story. ^.^ And to **MysticLover **who loves my story **The Cair Paravel, **take a deep breath and smile. I'm working on the chapter, I've just lost the inspiration for a moment but working back up to it. And now, please enjoy the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts.

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><p><strong>Food and Basketball<strong>

**Chapter 5: Our Saturday Afternoon Pt. 2**

The plaza was alive and buzzing in downtown Twilight Town with families and patrons that wanted to enjoy this beautiful, warm weather while it still lasted and they still had a chance to do so. Vendors were out and marketing their products, children screamed and squealed at their mothers and fathers to let them have something sweet to eat, friends giggled and gossiped together about this or that, and lovers lost themselves in the romantic atmosphere of the plaza.

"Woah!"

"David, be careful!"

"Sorry! Hehehehe! I want chocolate ice cream!"

Tiana watched the small, brunette child sprint off towards the ice cream vendor, his mother coming up behind him and smiling apologetically at the teenage girl. She looked to be in her late-thirties, the years of age visible on her face without making her seem old.

"I'm so sorry, young lady. I hope he didn't hurt you or anything?" she inquired, looking for any injuries or mess her son may have left on the young girl.

Tiana smiled back reassuringly and shook her head, "No ma'am, he didn't. No worries."

The woman sighed in relief and nodded her head, "Oh, alright. You have a good day then. Ah! Excuse me, please! David, don't you touch that dead bird or no ice cream for you!"

The woman then ran after her child, picking him up quickly before he could pick up the animal carcass and dirty his hands. Tiana laughed as she watched the spectacle, biting her lip and brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Oh, to be that young again," she mused aloud, tilting her head to the side, "Can't say I miss it."

A chuckle made her turn and look at Riku, the young man staring after the mother and child as well before turning amused eyes to the girl beside him; "Are you kidding? I would love to be a kid again. To be young and naïve without a care in the world; innocent without being judged. There were no problems and no worries except what new game you were going to play the next day. Being that young again…I would love the opportunity," he said, reminiscing back to his own childhood filled with warm, wonderful memories.

"Well, YOU obviously had an amazing childhood. Not everyone is that lucky," Tiana answered lightly, beginning to walk around aimlessly with Riku following after.

"Didn't you have a good childhood?" the basketball player asked curiously.

Tiana shrugged, "I plead the fifth." Then she changed the subject, "Where should we go now?"

Riku looked around the plaza before he himself gave a shrug, "I don't really know. Let's just walk around and see what there is to do. I'm sure there's something interesting out there."

So they did; they walked out of the center of the plaza and down a random street that Tiana and Lauren hadn't had the chance to explore before the other girl left. They passed by a little antique store that Tiana wandered in to without really consulting Riku first; not that the young man minded as long as it made her happy. It amused him to see her staring at all the little trinkets and poking them or prodding them or picking them up and twisting them around in order to see how they worked. They left the store with a purchase: a small, old-fashioned string puppet that just made the young girl giddy with how cute it was.

The next store they visited was an old book store that neither had been to and both wanted to explore. To say she was surprised would be an understatement as Tiana watched Riku looking over almost every book cover with a very keen eye and serious expression. He would pull a book down and hold it in his hands gingerly, as if afraid that it would disintegrate in his hands if he were too rough with it, and read the first couple of pages of the book. Then, he would put the book back if he didn't like what he read, thumb through other book titles and repeat the same process. It was fascinating to see, really, this handsome, popular, well-liked, and outgoing young man sorting through books with such intent that Tiana thought he was looking for treasure hidden among the trash. She was curious to know what he was thinking as he went through row after row of literature, curious to know what he was looking for and what kind of books he liked, but she didn't ask. She just waited and browsed and kept her mouth shut. The two eventually left the store with Riku's purchase of four mysterious looking books, said young man looking quite pleased with himself and his purchase.

And off they continued in comfortable company with one another; Tiana nearly forgot that she wasn't supposed to like being around Riku this much. Regardless, she was enjoying herself and not minding at all that she was with someone as handsome- beautiful really- as Riku. He was…fun…to look at.

"Hey, look!" Riku suddenly exclaimed, his hand lightly touching her wrist.

Tiana jumped a little from the sudden contact, but said nothing as she looked in the direction that the man was pointing; "It's a Spencer's," Riku said, nodding for her to follow him over, "They must have recently opened this store. Come on, let's check it out. I haven't been to a Spencer's in a while; the closest one is in Radiant Garden and that's a two hour drive."

With a shrug, Tiana followed, Riku guiding her across the street while looking both ways to make sure they didn't get hit by a car. They entered the store and were immediately assaulted by the bright lights and loud music that came with almost every Spencer's store. Since October was right around the corner, Halloween masks and costumes and props filled the display windows while the usual little trinkets and gadgets and things took up the rest of the store. While Riku looked at some shot glasses that had funny sayings on them, Tiana went her own way around the store. The fleece blankets they sold caught her attention and she went over to give those a little look through.

"Let's see. Family Guy…Marijuana…LA Lakers…Hello Kitty…more Marijuana" she mumbled off the names of the blankets as she sorted through them mindlessly, not really looking for anything.

When the blankets lost her interest, she moved on to the next section which just so happened to house objects for more…intimate relations. These objects included bondage holsters, ball-gags, furry handcuffs, and a nice little variety of…dildos. Tiana made a disgusted face, but she couldn't hide the blush that colored her cheeks as she stepped back, embarrassed that she actually stood there and stared at them for as long as she did.

"So not cute," she mumbled when something moved past her quickly and rounded the corner into the back of the store, a flash of silver catching her attention, "Riku?"

She waited for a moment to see if he would come out; he didn't. So she decided to go after him to see what he was up to, but some kind of dread suddenly filled her heart when she saw more Halloween masks in this part of the store along with other props and decorations dedicated to the holiday of fear.

"Riku, where did you go?" she called, moving slowly, "…Riku?"

Just before she could round the corner, a figure jumped out at her wearing a hideously ugly ogre mask with a slashed face, sunken eyes and scraggly white hair. The person roared, startling the girl and making her do the first thing that came to mind: swing her fist. Her little fist came in hard contact with his gut and the person groaned from the sudden attack and backed away.

"Crap!" the person moaned, reaching up to take off the mask and reveal that it was Riku the entire time, "Jeez, Tiana, that's some right hook you have!"

"Riku, what the hell were you doing? You scared me half to death!" she cried, a hand over her heart as she tried to slow her racing pulse.

The boy recovered and grinned while hanging the mask back up, "Sorry, I just couldn't resist it. I just had to see how easily you scare."

"Not funny," she told him before moving past him to the back where a rack of Masquerade masks stood.

She stared at them in wonder, finding the simple little masks to be very beautiful and elegant; she's always loved things that deal with the Masquerade, the mystery behind the masks and how they seemed to make the person wearing them all the more beautiful and desirable. She picked up a dark purple mask that was adorned with amethyst rhinestones and purple feathers on the top and slipped it over her eyes. She fixed them to fit more comfortably before turning around to show Riku, who had been watching her closely the entire time.

"What do you think?" she asked, staring up at him.

The young man stared down at her, taken by the sudden beauty this simple mask brought out in her. Her eyes seemed darker in color yet brighter in light and there seemed to be mystery surrounding her and when he thought about it, she _was _pretty mysterious. To him anyway; he still didn't know much about her. He pulled at the diamond stud in his ear as his heart pounded in his chest.

"You should get that," he finally confessed, tapping the middle of the mask with a chuckle before turning to walk back towards the front, "It looks cute on you."

Tiana stared after him, confused and stunned for just a moment before her cheeks became hot and her heart thudded in her ears. It looked cute on her? Well, wasn't that every girl's dream to hear Riku say! Turning to face the mirror that was set up beside the rack of Masquerade masks, she studied herself and smiled in satisfaction before taking it off and clutching it lightly. She then turned to follow Riku when something else caught her eye.

"AAAHHH!"

"What? What is it?" Riku inquired frantically when he heard her scream, running to where she stood with her back towards him.

"This…is so…CUTE!" she cried, swiveling around and shoving a stuffed Moogle doll in the basketball player's face, "I love these things! They are so adorable! And this one is so fluffy!"

"A…Moogle doll?" Riku asked, sighing in relief that nothing was actually wrong and it was all just Tiana's excitement, something that he had to admit made him happy.

"I love Moogles! They're the cutest little things ever! They're like little koala bears only better! And they're just-hello?" Tiana's ranting was cut short when Riku took the doll from her, along with her mask, and made his way towards the cash register.

Curious, she trailed after him and watched as he put the two items on the counter to be rung up. The cashier scanned both items, punched in some numbers before turning to Riku and saying, "That'll be $15.23 please."

With a nod, the silver-headed teen took out his wallet and prepared to pull out some money when a slender hand stopped him, Tiana looking up at him firmly.

"What do you think you're doing? I didn't ask you to buy these," she told him, her eyes serious.

Riku shrugged, "I know. I'm buying them anyway."

"I don't want you spending your money on me, Riku!" she insisted, "I'm not a charity case!"

"Then don't think of yourself as one," Riku said, making Tiana stop, "I'm not doing this because I think you're some charity case nor am I doing this so you can owe me anything. I'm doing this because I want to and that's all there is to it."

Well…it was kind of hard to argue that, but that doesn't mean she won't try.

"No!" she exclaimed stubbornly, reaching forward and snatching the items off the counter and turning to run.

Riku wordlessly stopped her, grabbed the items from her hands and placed them back on the counter, using his tall stature to keep her away at arm's length. Tiana huffed and made a grab for them again.

"Riku, knock it off!" she demanded.

Tired of fighting her for something so trivial, he turned and brazenly tickled her sides until she was just a puddle of squealing, giggling girl on the floor. He then got up and faced the cashier quickly.

"Hurry, ring them up before she has a chance to recover," he ordered the teenager.

The cashier, a little weirded out by their antics, did as he was told quickly and rang up the items, "Right, uh…$15.23 please."

"Riku, I swear I will-HAHAHAHAH! Stop!" Tiana started to say, but was cut off when the silver-headed male grabbed a mini vibrating massager, turned it on, and ran it up and down her sides which sent her back to the floor in a giggly mess.

With the young woman distracted again, and probably a little tired from the ordeal, Riku stood straight again and gave the cashier a $20 bill, which the teen took and changed immediately, giving Riku back the change and putting the items in a bag and handing the bag over to him.

"Here's your purchase," the cashier said, smiling in amusement at the two.

Riku took the bag with a smile and nodded his head, "Thanks."

"You play so freaking dirty," Tiana sneered from her place on the floor, taking the hand Riku offered to her and allowing the young man to haul her up, something that she was surprised he was able to do considering that she was a heavy-set girl.

Riku pulled a little too hard on her hand when he helped her up, causing her to stumble into his chest and he chuckled as he caught her. She looked up at him, vaguely realizing that her hands were on his hard, muscled chest and she could feel the muscles rippling underneath as he breathed in and out. Riku smirked at her and held up the bag.

"Here's your purchase," he teased, swinging it from side to side.

Tiana snapped out of her trance and glared at him in aggravation, snatching the bag from him and pointing at his chest, "I will pay you back, Riku."

He shrugged with an amused grin, "Do as you wish."

She huffed and turned to leave the store, Riku watching her go and allowing himself a moment to laugh at her antics and her little quirks. Before he could trail after her, the cashier stopped him.

"Hey, dude!"

Riku turned when he was addressed to see the male cashier grinning at him mischievously; "Just wanted to say that you and that girl make a pretty cute couple. Some guys won't agree, but the bigger girls are always sweeter and more loving to me. Not to mention a hell of a lot sexier."

The teal-eyed boy blinked when he heard those words, a bright blush coloring his cheeks as he stammered out, "O-Oh, she's not…W-We're just…There's actually…um…"

The male cashier just grinned and Riku decided that he didn't want to correct him, so he smiled back and gave a wave good-bye, "Later."

With that, he left the store and met Tiana outside as the girl turned to face him curiously; "Took a couple more minutes to flirt with the cashier, did we?" she teased, laughing at his shocked and blushing face.

"Hey now, I am not gay!" Riku defended, holding his hands up, "And I was not flirting! He just wanted to tell me that…"

"Tell you…what?"

He paused and looked down at her, actually replaying the cashier's words in his head as he studied the girl before him, finding himself unable to disagree with him. Tiana was definitely a beautiful girl with sex appeal just dripping off of her. Yes, she had the wider hips that most girls detested and quite a bit of tummy fat and thicker thighs, but she carried the extra flesh in such a sensuous, confident way that Riku didn't see an overweight girl, he saw a beautiful, sexy woman with deep curves and supple flesh. He wondered when he started seeing Tiana like that, but he kept these thoughts to himself.

"He just wanted to tell me that he thought you were pretty and wanted to know if you had a boyfriend," he lied instead, pulling at his earring.

Tiana fluttered her eyes in surprise, "Really now? What did you tell him?"

He shrugged, "I told him I didn't know and to ask you personally."

Tiana stared at his face, as if searching it for the truth behind the lies and for a moment, Riku was nervous that she knew he was lying and could read his thoughts, but then she just giggled and waved it off.

"Well, I won't be going back in there any time soon. He doesn't seem like my type," she commented, walking away from the store.

Riku tilted his head to the side curiously, taking long strides to catch up with her, "Not your type? That's interesting to hear."

"Why is that?"

"Because now I want to know what your type is," he answered, grinning slyly at her.

"Oh curious boy you are," she teases, patting his shoulder, "But no, you'll just have to keep on wondering cuz my lips are sealed."

"You're just shrouded in mystery, aren't you?" he asked playfully, shaking his head.

"Just call me Houdini!" she declared, throwing her hand in the air dramatically.

"Houdini's a magician."

"You're point?"

"…I guess I don't have one."

The two continued on with their explorations, looking into store windows and consulting with one another on what looked interesting and what looked boring and what looked down right strange. The sun was beginning to make its' descent to the horizon, splashing the sky with bright, warm colors of orange and red and yellow. The day was close to being over and upon this realization, Riku had a sudden idea on a place that he wanted to share with Tiana.

"Come on, let's catch the train. I want to take you somewhere," he urged, taking her wrist in his large hand and pulling gently.

"Now?" Tiana asked in surprise, "But the day's almost over."

"I'll make sure that we're back before it gets too late," he insisted, tugging her along and meeting little resistance from her, "Trust me, Tiana. I'll take care of you."

She stared up at him when he said those words, a smile adorning his face and his eyes shining with sincerity. Riku hadn't lied to her thus far- except about the incident with the cashier back at Spencer's, but she didn't know that- so there was no reason for her to not trust him. He was nothing but a gentleman to her all day, kind and polite, so why shouldn't she trust him?

Because you're scared, a little voice in the back of her head whispered and she had to agree because that little voice was usually right and she usually always did listen to it. However, just this once, she was defiant and didn't listen to that voice as she nodded at Riku's request and obediently followed after him.

"Okay, I trust you."

This brought a warmer smile to the young man's face as he swiftly led her to the train station, bought them both a ticket and climbed aboard into one of the near empty cars. They sat together, but not too close lest someone get the wrong idea about how intimate their relationship was. Tiana turned around in her seat and watched the scenery flash by as the train went on its way, Riku watching her with an amused expression and light heart. Within 20 minutes, the train came to the destination that Riku was waiting for and he helped Tiana up and the two of them got off the train. Without really thinking about it, he gripped her hand in his and guided her through the quiet streets of suburban Twilight Town and up a green hill where soft grass and lush trees grew. They stopped at the top of this hill and Tiana couldn't help but stare in wonder at the scenery before her, her heart aching with the beauty before her that nearly brought tears to her eyes. The sun had sunken lower towards the horizon, changing the once bright colors of orange and yellow and red into softer yet darker colors which reflected off the rippling surface of the deep, blue ocean that stretched on as far as the eye could see.

"I like to come up here sometimes," Riku admitted, breaking the silence they were once in and making Tiana look at him, "It's peaceful, you know? Quiet and away from all the noise of the city. It's a good place for me to come and just have time to myself."

Tiana watched him, momentarily left breathless as the gentle breeze from the ocean blew his hair into his face a little and his eyes, so tender and sweet, caught the light from the fading sun as he looked down at her with a gentle smile. She jumped a little when she realized that she was staring, turning her eyes to the ground quickly as her cheeks burned and she ran a hand through her black curls.

"It is beautiful," she confessed, following after him as he lightly grasped her wrist and walked her over to the sturdy wooden fence that was rooted in the ground.

He hopped over and helped her over as well before taking her things, setting them on the ground, and putting his hands on her hips. This sent a red flag up and Tiana put her hands on top of his as she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, dropping her weight a little so he couldn't try anything too easily.

Riku chuckled at the slight panicked look in her eye, easily lifting her off her feet despite the weight she was forcing down and setting her back down on the top log of the fence post, "Don't freak out. I'm just helping you sit down."

"Well, a warning would've been nice," she scolded, only earning a laugh from the athlete as he turned around and nudged her thighs apart so he could lean his back against her front.

The sudden move caught Tiana by surprise and she ended up flailing about to stop herself from falling; "RIKU!" she called, grabbing his shoulder to stay steady.

Said young man helped by grabbing her wrist and pulling her forward so she was, once again, comfortably seated, and he could lean against her just as comfortably, "Sorry, hehe, just trying to get comfortable."

"Again, a warning would've been nice," she hissed out, glaring down at the top of his head.

Riku let her words just roll off his back as he sighed and leaned his head back against her stomach. Tiana raised an eyebrow curiously at his actions, noticing how he drew her arm over his shoulder and held it gently there, leaning his head against the crook of her arm and staying quiet. She just shrugged it off as something to not worry about and wrapped her other arm around him and placed her chin on top of his head. Riku smiled and placed his large, pale hand on that other arm as the two of them sat in comfortable silence, watching the sun continuing its' journey to the end of the earth where it would disappear behind the sea until the next day.

"You're beautiful, you know?"

Burgundy eyes fluttered and brows furrowed at those softly spoken words; "…Huh?" Tiana answered 'intellectually'.

"I said you're beautiful," Riku repeated, smirking as he looked off to the side, "No matter what anyone says, you're perfect just the way you are. There's nothing to change, except, maybe, how closed off you are to the rest of us."

Tiana decidedly ignored that last part and grinned, lowering her head to look at the side of his face, "Aww! Thanks sugar foot! I could say the same thing about you, but I'm sure you already know that you're beautiful. People must tell you all the time."

Riku snorted and rolled his eyes, "Not really. They gossip about my looks and I've heard the gossip, but no one has ever had the guts to say it to my face."

"Probably because they're afraid you'll punch them in _their _face for saying that to you. What straight guy likes being called beautiful."

He considered this and had to agree, but he didn't tell her that. Instead, he smirked again and nudged her arm with his head.

"You're not afraid to tell me I'm beautiful, though?" he asked, peering up at her.

Tiana shrugged, "No, because if you hit me, I'm just going to hit you back and if you beat me up, I'm going to press assault charges and if you kill me, I will haunt you for life and make you regret ever knowing my name."

Riku was silent and stared at the ocean, "…You've…thought about this before, haven't you?"

"I just have a lot of time on my hands and I use it wisely."

"Hehehe, is that so?" he chuckled nervously, fiddling with that diamond stud in his ear once again, "That's good to know…So, why are you so closed off?"

"Curious one, aren't you?"

"You make me curious."

Again, she shrugged and folded her hands on top of his head, sighing deeply through her nose as her eyes remained transfixed on the setting sun, "Because that's just the way I am."

"…Did something happen when you were a kid? Back at the plaza, you said-"

"I remember what I said," she cut him off, "…but that's not important."

"I think it's important."

Tiana remained silent, giving her answer without words and Riku was smart enough to understand. He sighed, but smiled all the same and nodded his head while gripping her arm reassuringly.

"You're not going to tell me today," he spoke, voice warm and understanding, "That's okay. Maybe one day you will and I'll wait for that day because that's what friends do."

Even though he couldn't see and she was still silent, Tiana smiled happily when she heard his words and she once again tilted her head to look at his face, "So we're friends now?"

"I think we are," he admitted, teal eyes glinting.

She laughed and nodded, "Okay, whatever you say."

"What I say is true."

"Uh huh."

Riku laughed and settled back against her body, warm hands grasping her wrists when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders again. Silence, then…

"You really are beautiful, you know?"

"Hehehe…thanks, Riku."

&%&%&%&%&%&

By the time Riku pulled his car into the driveway of Tiana's house, the sun had set and the stars were beginning to blink into existence as the moon began to rise in the sky. The basketball player turned off the car and the two of them sat in silence for a while before Tiana smiled and looked at him.

"Well, thanks for hanging out with me today after Lauren ditched me," she said gratefully, gathering her bags in her lap.

Riku mirrored her smile and nodded, "No problem. It was fun; not to mention relaxing."

Tiana laughed, then cleared her throat as the quiet fell upon them again. Figuring that there was nothing left to say to one another, she put her hand on the door knob and prepared to open the door when Riku's hand on her wrist stopped her.

"Wait," he said.

She turned to him curiously only to gasp in surprise when he leaned forward and brushed his lips against her cheek. It was just a soft kiss, a feather light touch of his warm lips to her face, but it still felt like her cheek had been set on fire from the gentle contact. Riku just smiled at her and leaned away.

"Do you…Do you always kiss your friends good-bye like that?" she stammered out, heart pounding in her chest and her cheeks flaring up.

"No, just you because you're special," he told her, looking at that steering wheel in embarrassment.

Tiana just nodded slowly, unsure of what to do next. The gears of her brain finally stopped jamming up and she was able to think a coherent thought that the rest of her body was able to follow: open the door, get out of the car, and go inside. When she was out of the car, she leaned down and looked at Riku, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well…I guess I'll see you later," she said with a small wave.

Riku nodded once and lifted his hand to bid her good-bye, "Yeah. Later, Tiana, and thanks for all the fun today."

"…You're welcome," she whispered before closing the door and walking quickly up to the house, knowing full well that his eyes were still on her.

Before opening the front door, she turned to look at the car one last time and saw Riku wave at her. She waved back, then opened the door and walked inside. Riku waited until the front door was closed before he sighed deeply and allowed for the blush he had been fighting down so hard to flush his cheeks. He had kissed her cheek. Yes, it wasn't really that big of a deal, but…why was his heart beating as fast as it was and why did he even have that urge to kiss her in the first place?

'Maybe it's because it wasn't her cheek you wanted to be kissing,' the little voice in his head taunted, making him growl and grip the steering wheel.

"I'm not going to sit here and have a conversation with my brain," he said to himself, starting the car and backing out of the driveway, "…No matter how much that voice in my head makes sense."

Then, he was gone. From inside the house, Tiana watched through the curtains as the red and black Mustang drove down the street, the breath she didn't know she was holding being released in one big sigh.

"Everything okay, baby?" Granda asked her granddaughter, looking up from the puzzle she was doing to regard the young girl curiously.

Tiana turned to her grandmother and nodded distractedly, "Yeah…Yeah, everything's fine, Granda."

"Oh, okay. Who was that that dropped you off?" The elderly woman inquired, remembering when Lauren stopped by earlier in the day to drop off Tiana's purchases from the stores and told her how she was with someone else for the day.

Tiana was quiet for a moment, her fingers unconsciously touching the place on her cheek where Riku kissed her before she smiled a giddy smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"Just a new friend, Granda."

**End Chapter**

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><p><strong>Crimsonwings92: <strong>Hope you all liked it! It was fun to write it and I hope it satisfied everyone! Please read and review! Ciao!


	6. Chapter 6: Lunch Time Conversations

**Crimsonwings92: **Hey there all you happy people! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year and all that jazz! Well, here's another chapter of _Food and Basketball_. I know it's been quite a few weeks and I probably disappointed a lot of people, but I'm trying to stay on it and not let it slip off to the side like I did for so many other stories. Thank you to all my readers who have been writing reviews for this story and I'm glad that Tiana has been making you all happy; I tried to make sure that she wasn't a mary sue because, honestly, I can't stand those kinds of girls. So, if it looks like she's kind of moving that way, PLEASE, I BEG YOU! Let me know. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me.

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><p><strong>Food and Basketball<strong>

**Chapter 6: Lunch Time Conversation**

"Now let's see. 4 cups of sugar…1/2 cup of butter…2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, I think we got that…"

"Uh, Tiana?"

"Hold on a second. Looks like we'll need some nutmeg too; I was so sure we had some up here."

"Tiana…"

"Or maybe I put it in the cupboard with the frosting bits."

"Is there supposed to be smoke coming out of the oven?"

"Maybe a little steam on the glass pane- WHAT DO YOU MEAN SMOKE?"

"Uh…"

"Riku! What did you do?"

"Well, you said that if we put the oven on at 250 degrees, it'll be done in about an hour. So, I figured that if we put it on at 500 degrees, it'll be done in half the time."

"THAT'S NOT HOW THIS WORKS!"

Trying not to panic too much, Tiana pulled the bashful looking basketball player away from the oven and then zipped around the kitchen to find the fire extinguisher. Finding the item that she was looking for, Tiana rushed back over to the oven and cautiously, but quickly, threw the door down. As soon as she did, flames burst forth, making her cringe back from the heat. Getting her bearings, she lifted the fire extinguisher and sprayed the retardant on the flames. A couple minutes later finds the two teens standing in front of the oven and staring in at the completely charred pan of homemade brownies while smoke billowed out in puffy, gray clouds. They were both silent, the excitement of the situation dying down for them, before Tiana blew a strand of hair out of her face.

"Okay…baking…not exactly your forte," she stated, blinking her eyes twice

Riku chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his silver locks sheepishly, "Well…it could've been worse."

At this exact moment, after three beeps were heard, the sprinklers in the kitchen came on due to sensing the smoke and doused everything that may have been on fire. This sudden turn of events only added to the irritation that Tiana already felt with the boy as she thinned her lips and turned slowly towards him, the look in her eyes so chilling he shuddered from the cold.

"Tiana," he started with a sad look on his face, "I'm really really so-"

"Don't. Say. Another. Word," she griped out through clenched teeth, holding up her finger to silence him; he dared not disobey her.

"What's happened? What's going on?" a woman cried as she came running into the kitchen, her brown, wavy hair up in a messy bun and her hazel eyes filled with worry.

She gasped when she saw both Riku and Tiana soaked from the water, the woman getting there just seconds after the water from the sprinklers finally turned off. Riku looked away in embarrassment- after all, he did cause this mess- and Tiana just sighed and brushed one of her wavy curls away from her face.

"Sorry, Ms. McAfferty, we had a slight…problem…with the oven," Tiana explained, giving Riku a sidelong glance before turning back to the home economics teacher and giving her the best innocent smile she could muster, "Everything's fine, now. We'll clean up the mess."

"Oh, my poor dear!" the middle-aged woman gushed as she rushed over to the young female and ran her fingers through her wet hair, "You're not hurt or anything are you?"

Tiana laughed lightly and shook her head, "No, ma'am. I'm fine, we both are."

"I'm really sorry, Ms. McAfferty. I'll get started on cleaning this right away and I promise to be more careful next time," Riku jumped in.

The older woman immediately turned to him sternly and put her hands on her hips while moving to stand in front of Tiana and confront the young man; "You are absolutely right you will clean this mess up and you're lucky I don't make you clean it up by yourself!"

Riku blinked at the sudden attack while Tiana just giggled behind the teacher; "Despite what you _athletes _believe, the kitchen is an artistic domain and food is a culinary creation that must be prepared with care. You can't just handle the merchandise in the kitchen with your rough hands like it's some baseball or football or basketball! And what if one of you got hurt, huh? Did you stop to think about that? What if you had injured Tiana?" the woman ranted, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed, "You will do well to learn from your mistakes and to take EXTRA special care next time, do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes ma'am."

Ms. McAfferty then smiled tightly in a frightening way and nodded, "Good. I'm glad we could talk about this like adults."

She then turned to Tiana and put her hands on the young student's shoulders, her eyes flashing with worry and motherly tenderness, "Make sure you get dried before you catch a cold, Tiana. It's a bit chilly outside."

"I will, Ms. Mac, I promise. Sorry about all the trouble we caused you and for giving you such a scare," Tiana repeated, smiling sweetly up at the teacher.

McAfferty smiled down gently at Tiana and nodded her head, preparing to leave before catching Riku's eye and narrowing her own eyes; "Remember, Lexington, I'm watching you," she threatened before smiling in a most frightening way again and waving, "Toodles!"

Once they were sure she was a good distance away, Riku let out a relieved sigh while Tiana laughed humorously and moved to find some towels.

"What was all that about?" the basketball star cried, thoroughly confused as to why the teacher seemed to hate his guts already; he's never really had problems with any of his teachers before and he figured that it was because he was an athlete, but still.

Tiana shrugged at his question as she walked over to the end of the kitchen and opened a large cabinet door to pull out a couple towels, tossing one over to Riku who expertly caught it in one hand. She looked at him and shook her head, another small giggle leaving her lips as she laid a towel on the floor and began to mop up the water with her foot.

"I think it has something to do with whatever happened prior to the school getting a woodshop class about 7 years ago. In order to get their elective grades, the athletes had to take Ms. McAfferty's home economics class and they never really took it seriously. I heard from Alumni that they would always cause a ruckus, throw things around, flirt around with the girls in class and just basically wreck the place. Practically drove the woman up the wall with how much they horsed around," Tiana explained, turning towards Riku and shrugging again, "I think she just has it out for all athletes now. Can't really trust them anymore and considering that you could've burned down her kitchen with your 'figuring', she's going to be watching you pretty closely."

The silver-haired teen flinched at her warning and shook his head, "I never thought I would have a teacher as an enemy."

"Well, it is sort of your fault. Just do good from now on and you'll be fine. Who knows? She may even start to like you if you play your cards right."

"…She seems to like _you_ a lot," Riku stated, placing the towel in his hand on the counter to start soaking up some of the water.

Tiana stopped for just a second before laughing shyly and shaking her head, pushing her hair behind her ear as she made her way back over to the cabinet to get more towels, "I guess so. I heard from other students that I'm her favorite little culinary artist. I don't know; I just like to make good food."

"Well, I believe that you're her favorite. I mean, what you create is amazing!" Riku complimented, moving the towel around a little, "I know you're my favorite."

Tiana shook her hair out of her face again and looked at Riku, that same shy smile coming back and her cheeks beginning to feel warm. Riku seemed to like complimenting her and making her blush; he did it quite often ever since they started hanging out regularly after their Saturday afternoon three weeks ago. She couldn't even really deny it anymore, the fact that she actually _liked _being around him. He made her smile and laugh and feel warm inside…it was strange, to tell you the truth.

"Awww, thank you, Riku. You're too kind," she replied playfully, throwing the towels on the floor and continuing her job.

The young man watched her for a couple seconds, small smile on his face, before he walked carefully over to her and put his hand on her arm, forcing her to look at him.

"I'll clean the floors. You go take care of the counters," he said, stepping around her to put his foot on the dampening towels.

"It's okay. I can do it," Tiana replied, eyeing him suspiciously.

Riku just chuckled and nodded his while nudging her towards his previous spot gently, "I know you can and I also know that you can clean counters, too, so there shouldn't be a problem."

With the way he said it there was no room for argument and even though Tiana could've forced room for argument, she decided not to and to listen to him. After spending as much time as she had with Riku, she had come to learn that when he takes over certain things, like now for instance, it wasn't because he was just trying to take over and be a macho ass about it. He was just trying to be nice; this, too, made her smile and so, she went over and wiped up the counters while he took over on the floor. With their combined efforts, they had the floors and counters all dried up and the towels all thrown in the dryer so they could be used for later.

"Well, looks like everything in here is in order," Tiana said aloud before turning to look at the clock hanging on the wall, "And we still have about 30 minutes left for lunch. I tell ya, I love how our school gives us an hour for lunch."

Riku smirked and nodded, walking over to grab Tiana's bag and jacket to hand over to her, the young culinary student taking said items with thanks as Riku then picked up his own jacket and backpack.

"Yeah, it has its perks. So, we head over to the cafeteria?" he asked, slipping his arms through the sleeves of his jacket.

"Naw, I'm going outside today. Don't really feel like dealing with all the noise of the cafeteria," Tiana answered, her back to him as she slipped on her own coat and zipped it up to just underneath her breasts and then lifted the hood over her head.

Riku stopped and stared at her for a moment, slightly confused, "Um…are you sure? I mean, Ms. McAfferty is right, ya know? It is pretty chilly outside and we both just got soaked, so there's definitely a chance that we'll catch a cold or something."

"That's what the jacket's for," she answered flatly, slinging her bag on her back before turning to Riku, "Look, if you want to go to the cafeteria, that's fine with me. I, on the other hand, am going outside for some fresh air."

With a sweet smile thrown his way, one that seemed almost too sweet, the girl turned and made her way out of the kitchen to go eat her lunch, leaving a bewildered basketball player behind. She usually brought home made lunches so she wouldn't have to go through the line in the cafeteria and then pay for the food. Today was one of those days. While she was walking down the hall, looking for the closest exit that led to the outdoors, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She stopped and turned around only to find that there was no one there, this realization making her shiver nervously.

"Okay, that's not creepy," she said sarcastically, taking a few steps backwards before she turned back to continue walking. However…

"Got ya!"

"Ahh!"

Riku let out a humorous laugh, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets as his teal colored eyes gazed at Tiana. Said girl held a hand to her forehead, the small place where Riku flicked her not so much hurting, but feeling funny and she wasn't very appreciative of his actions.

"What the hell was that for, Riku!" she cried out, rubbing the sore spot as she glared at her friend with one eye closed.

"Nothing, really. I just wanted to see you get angry," the silver-headed boy replied with a shrug and a humorous grin.

"Why?"

"Because it's cute."

"Seriously? Cute?"

He looked away and smiled secretly, fiddling with his earring, "Well yeah. Your nose scrunches up when you get mad and your eyes seem to get bigger. Brighter even…"

At this point, Tiana's cheeks were inflamed with a blush, but she ignored the burning sensation and held on to that last bit of agitation that she had left to pinch his nose between her index finger and thumb and pull him closer to her.

"I bet it won't be cute when I rip that earring out of your ear!" she growled threateningly through clenched teeth.

Riku shook his head at her threat, his voice sounding nasally as he said, "No, not really."

Tiana glared at him for a second longer before releasing him and stepping back, watching out of the corner of her eye as Riku gingerly rubbed his sore and slightly red nose. The girl just rolled her eyes and walked around him towards the door that was just a couple feet away from them and pushed it open, her face immediately hit with the cool chill of the autumn weather. The leaves on the trees that surrounded the school were beginning to change color, going from that lush green to the bright and vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows that everyone loved so much. Some of them had fallen off the branches due to the wind shaking them from their original places and were now littering the grass and cement walkways that made up the school. Tiana breathed in the cool air of Fall and smiled to herself before stepping out on to the walkway, the crisp leaves crunching under her brown leather boots with the three buckles going up the sides, and searching for a nearby bench that she and Riku could occupy for the rest of lunch.

"I thought you were going to the cafeteria," she voiced to the teenage boy that was trailing behind her, her hands stuffed into the black jacket that kept her warm and covered her dark red, sweater dress.

Riku shrugged, but then realized that Tiana couldn't see him; "I never said that," he answered , looking around at the beauty of autumn that made him smile as well, "Besides, I packed a lunch today anyway, so it actually would be nicer to eat it somewhere not so crowded."

The young girl didn't reply, but Riku did hear an amused giggle come from her and this made him smile all the warmer as he followed after her, "True. Great minds think alike, I guess."

The silver-headed boy chuckled in response then suddenly stopped when Tiana did, said female letting out a pleasant cry as she did a small skip farther ahead of him.

"Quarter!" she said, bending down to pick up the shiny silver coin, "Mine!"

And, of course, it was at this time that Riku couldn't help but notice how…attractively round her bottom was. How the dark red sweater dress tightened suggestively over the two round, bubbly cheeks and her black tights shaped her legs and disappeared from under the dress into her brown boots. To say he was hypnotized for a moment would be an accurate assumption, his head tilting to the side for that brief second that she was bent over and his mind suddenly taking him places that he tried hard not to go to when thinking of Tiana out of respect for her.

"Hehe, I get a quarter."

She stood back up and the spell was broken.

When he realized that he had been staring at her ass this entire time, Riku quickly and bashfully turned away so he wouldn't be caught, but the sudden pink coloring of his cheeks would surely give him away. Well, it would if Tiana paid a bit more attention to his reactions and had enough confidence in herself to know that she could attract the opposite sex despite her bigger figure. She looked at her friend and furrowed her brows in worry.

"Your cheeks are getting red," she said, striding over to him and putting one of her dark hands on his cheek, the color contrasting greatly with his pale skin, "Don't tell me you're getting sick already?"

She laughed at her own question and Riku tried to laugh along as well, but it only came out as a forced chuckle; he was still very much embarrassed about his perverted moment, even though he hadn't been caught.

"I'm sure it's nothing. It's probably just the cold wind making the blood rush to my cheeks or something," he reassured her, taking her hand that was still on his cheek and holding it in his.

Tiana stared at their hands for a moment; feeling a little dumbfounded at how gentle his calloused fingers were against the sensitive skin of her wrist, before she slipped her hand from his and took her perch on the surface of the table top. Riku slid in beside her on the seat of the bench and set his bag by his side while fishing around in the contents for his sack lunch. Tiana followed his lead.

"So how's Lauren doing? I haven't seen you two hang out that much for the past couple of days," the basketball player asked before biting into his sandwich and chewing slowly.

"She's doing well. She's actually been hanging out with Demyx quite a bit. I think they have a thing for each other," Tiana answered, picking a piece of her PB&J sandwich off and popping it into her mouth.

"Demyx Crolin?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"A little," Riku replied, "We had a few classes together last year and he's pretty buddy-buddy with Axel. He's actually a pretty nice guy from what I can see from all the times we hung out together. Easy going, laid-back, funny, and one hell of a musician; he wouldn't be bad for Lauren."

"Well that's good to hear," Tiana voiced with a small laugh as she uncapped her water bottle and took a quick drink from it, "Lauren definitely deserves a guy like that in her life considering how many dogs we had to put down."

Riku, confused at first by her statement, laughed humorously as his eyes flashed curiously, "What? That's a new expression I've never heard before."

She laughed more openly and waved her hand, sneaking out to snatch a chip from his chip bag and pop it into her mouth, "A lot of guys are dogs, Riku, and you can try to deny it, but everyone knows it's true. And apparently, both Lauren and I attract these particular kinds of guys that think they only have to sweet talk us for about a week in order to get into our pants. Well, for me it was a week. For Lauren it was close to a month; lucky bitch."

Riku stared up at Tiana as said girl reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, apparently answering a text message that she had received. The young man watched her intently, staring into her eyes as if waiting for something to happen, waiting for some kind of emotion to flit through them, waiting for even the slightest hint of pain to flash in her eyes from being treated as nothing more than a piece of meat to have sex with so he could jump in and make everything alright. He didn't see that flash, didn't see anything close to it and even though he felt a little disappointed that he couldn't save the day and make her feel better about something that would make other girls feel very insecure about, he was happy. She obviously didn't care what those other guys thought of her and tried to do with her. She was obviously stronger than that and Riku was…proud.

Odd thought, really.

"Anyway," Tiana started up again as she slid her phone back into her pocket and finished off her sandwich, "Anything new in the World of Riku?"

"Hehe, no, not really. Coach has been working us hard for the season and Roxas and Sora are finally getting somewhere with the Woolson girls. Oh and Axel seems to have found himself a little love interest, too."

"Has he now?"

"Yeah. A girl in our grade named Xion Tiff."

"Xion? I know who that is," Tiana answered, a smile on her face when she realized who Riku was talking about, "She seems like a nice girl; smart, too, not to mention a tough one. She may look sweet and fragile, but get her mad enough…I've heard things."

Riku laughed as she shrugged, the boy shaking his head at her explanation as he ran one of his hands through his silver hair. Tiana noticed the action and followed suit, running both of her hands through the silky tresses and unknowingly making Riku freeze at the intimate contact.

"I love your hair," she says, running her hands through it again, "It's so cool! How many people do you know with hair like yours? It's insane! Like, in the membrane!"

Teal eyes locked with reddish brown and Tiana smiled at the boy as her hands came to rest just below his ears, "But I still like it."

He smiled up at her, those beautiful eyes of his catching the rays of the sun and glistening like precious gems. The smile was so contagious, Tiana found herself copying him…until she felt something curious. With her left hand, she felt the earring that was in his right ear, but with her right hand…

"Riku, have you been forgetting to put your earring in this ear?" she asked him as she fiddled with the earlobe on his left ear, the one that was empty of an earring.

"Hmm? Oh…I guess I have," the silverette responded as he lifted his hand and let it hover over hers, the pads of his fingers just skimming the back of her hand.

Tiana made a face and shook her head as she peered at his ear, "I can tell. The hole is even starting to close up. You're going to need to re-pierce it if you want to be able to keep putting your earring in."

"Why don't you pierce it for me?" he asked with a playful smirk.

"Sure, Riku, as if you trust me enough to pierce your ears," she retorted sarcastically, narrowing her eyes.

"I do trust you enough to pierce my ears."

"I believe that as much as I believe in the tooth fairy."

Riku just chuckled before nudging her leg and pulling on the buckle of her boot, "So, when is my next baking lesson?"

"Never."

"What?"

"Today's lesson was horrible. I think you should just stay out of the kitchen period," Tiana elaborated, pushing her black hair behind her ear.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad. I bet with a little more practice, I could be a great baker- OOF!"

"HAHAHAHA!"

Tiana broke into peals of laughter as an orange flyer with black letters smacked Riku right in the face, effectively shutting the young man up and giving the young woman something to laugh about. Riku, eyes narrowed, pealed the piece of paper off of his face and glared up at his companion. The look only made Tiana laugh harder as she rocked backward and then forward, holding her stomach.

"Yeah, that was hilarious Tiana. Don't forget to breathe," he snapped sarcastically, his eyes scanning the paper.

"That was the elements telling you to stop kidding yourself. That's a divine sign, Riku. Stay out of the kitchen!" Tiana giggled, burgundy eyes alight with mirth.

He just hummed as he stared at the paper, prompting Tiana's curiosity as she leaned over to glance at it as well. On the paper, she saw the words "Homecoming Dance: Night of Horror" written in big 'Chiller' font letters over a black image of a haunted house complete with rickety fence, trashed yard, and bats flying above it. Below the image was just the general information of what time the dance was, where to buy the tickets, and how much they cost.

"I nearly forgot about homecoming. We're not playing that night because everyone is pretty much just going to go to the football game instead. Besides, they need the gym cleared out to decorate it," Riku commented, laying the paper on the table, "I can't believe it's in two weeks."

"Mmhmm," Tiana hummed, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back.

They heard giggling and the two looked over to see a group of three girls a few yards away. They were in a circle around each other and were laughing girlishly, but they kept looking at Riku with red cheeks. One girl in particular, a pretty one with dark brown hair and peach skin and big blue eyes, kept smiling flirtatiously at him. She raised her hand and waved.

"Hi, Riku," she called, eliciting giggles from her friends as they all turned to watch his reaction.

Riku smiled back at her politely, though it was a bit strained, and nodded his head in return, "Hey, Paula."

"Looking good today!"

"Thanks. You, too."

She giggled again and went back to her friends, some whispering going on before all three broke into peals of laughter before sauntering off, but not before glancing once more time back at the handsome young basketball player with the high popularity status. Riku and Tiana watched them go, the man sighing deeply once they were gone.

"That was awkward," he commented lightly, chuckling.

"…Uh huh."

At the empty reply, Riku looked up at his companion to see her staring down at her knee, her left ankle rotating itself slowly as her eyes seemed to glaze over from being in deep thought. He tilted his head to make eye contact as his brows furrowed together in concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded her head slowly, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, nothing's wrong," she repeated, looking away from him down the direction of the path the three girls followed.

The basketball star watched her quietly for a moment, something not settling quite right with him about her answers and her attitude. He touched her knee.

"Tiana?"

She turned her head back to him and looked into his eyes, surely seeing the confusion and worry in those greenish-blue orbs. They stared at each other for a moment longer, one trying to read the other while the other kept the emotionless mask on her face.

"I think she wants you to ask her out to this," Tiana finally said, picking up the paper and staring blankly at it, giving the illusion that she was reading it to avoid Riku's gaze.

"Yeah, probably…there's probably going to be a lot more of them, too," he sighed, not liking the idea at all.

"You don't sound excited at all."

"I started getting hints from other girls last week; it gets to be a hassle sometimes."

"Hahaha! I bet. Hard to be a god, I guess."

Riku laughed lightly and looked at the back of the paper, "What about you? Anyone asked you to the dance yet?"

"Nope, but even if they did, I would just say no," she answered, shrugging.

"Why? Everyone is going to be at the dance! It's homecoming!" Riku cried in surprise.

Tiana clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, "Wow, a stupid dance for a high school tradition that we'll only be part of for four years, big freaking whoop. I've always hated homecoming dances; it got boring after freshmen year. I don't go to them anymore…besides, the dance this year is actually on Halloween and Lauren and I are going to the Halloween Town Fair that's on the same day."

Riku blinked, "The Halloween Town Fair?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I think it's a travelling fair or something cuz it only shows up once a year and that's during the last week of October. They set up on that huge empty field just outside of that abandoned manor."

"Oh yeah, now I know what you're talking about," Riku nodded, smiling as he remembered said fair that she described.

"Yup! Lauren and I have gone to that fair on Halloween night every year since the 8th grade; I absolutely love it! It gives you such a thrill!"

Riku turned his smile towards her and leaned his cheek against his fist, "Sounds like fun."

She nodded, "…Why don't you come with us?"

"Hmm? To the fair?" he inquired, opening his eyes again and looking up at her quizzically.

Tiana nodded and Riku could have sworn her cheeks gained a reddish color to them as she scratched the side of her head, "Yeah. I think she'll try and convince Demyx to go, which I'm sure he'll agree to do, so it's not like you'll be the only guy…"

Her eyes were glowing at this point, shining with something that he hadn't seen there before as she looked back at him and waited for his answer, a small inviting smile across her pink lips. He was surprised by that glow, left breathless for a moment; he clenched and unclenched his fists, then raised his hand to the diamond stud in his ear.

"Well…I don't know, Tiana. I've never missed a homecoming dance since entering high school and someone has kind of already asked me to the dance," he told her with uncertainty.

At this, she stared at him blankly, unnerving him to a certain degree before she just snorted and shrugged, "Sure, whatever, I understand. Wouldn't want to disappoint this year's lucky lady, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," he added with a nervous smile just before the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

The two of them cleaned up their mess, looking for the nearest trash can to throw their trash away. Not 10 feet away, they spotted one and while Riku walked closer to it to assure that his crumpled up paper bag made it in, Tiana stayed back to see if she could shoot it in. She missed and pouted when Riku laughed at her.

"Not funny," she said with a sarcastic smile and narrowed eyes.

"It is to me. You missed it by, like, a mile," he teased her mercilessly, picking up her crumpled paper bag that had fallen near him and throwing it away for her.

"Well, sorry that we're not all basketball super stars like someone I know," she retorted, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms while turning her back to him.

She heard a warm chuckle before he was right behind her, so close that she could feel his body heat right against her back, the close proximity making her blush secretly.

"I could always give you a few pointers, Tia. It's only fair since you apparently risked your life to teach me how to bake today," he whispered in her ear, lightly curling a lock of her hair around his finger, "It'll be fun. Just you and me, one on one."

Tiana was quiet for a moment as she both mulled over her thoughts and fought to keep the blush from spreading to the tips of her ears. When she was able to breathe a little normally, she chuckled and shook her head, moving away from him as she began her walk to class.

"I would consider it, but you might like it too much," she teased, turning around to walk backwards with her arms folded over chest and a playful smile on her face.

Riku smirked as she turned back around to continue walking and then he whispered to himself, "Heh…you have no idea."

Jogging to catch up with Tiana, who, surprisingly enough, can pick up her walking pace quite fast, Riku grabbed her hand and spun her around playfully just outside the door that led back into the school building, his actions causing her to laugh heartily. He stepped close to the point that if he just reached forward another inch, his lips would be pressed against her forehead. Tiana, for the moment, was too lost in her giggling to notice, but when she heard Riku's warm chuckle rather close to her ear and felt him interlace their fingers together, she finally came to and focused on the position they were in. She looked at their interlaced fingers curiously, tensed a little when Riku tightened his hold just so and when she felt his eyes on her, watching her reaction. She decided to make nothing of his obvious flirting, something that made her heart skip a beat, and slipped her fingers from his grasp.

"We should get to class, Riku," she said quietly, stepping back to give them some room to breathe, "Especially you. You know how you like to lag all the time."

He smiled and chuckled, "Yeah, I know."

'It's only when I'm with you though.'

She giggled and nodded as she turned to go back inside, Riku following after her. As soon as they stepped through the door, they were swarmed with their fellow schoolmates all rushing to get to their classes, completely ignoring the two of them with the exception of a few cheerleaders that had always had a thing for Riku.

"Well, later," Tiana bid as she turned on her heel.

"Wait, Tiana," Riku called, making her stop and look at him, "The fair…is the offer to go still on the table?"

She blinked blankly, "…What about that girl that asked you to the dance?"

He shrugged, "I didn't say yes."

"You didn't say no either."

He stared at her, watching her expression as she stared back at him, the mass of students still moving about them and between them; they never broke eye contact. Tiana finally gave a small smile and a shrug before turning back on her heel to walk away. Riku watched her, his eyes travelling up and down her figure as she got farther and farther away from him, admiring the curves, the roundness of her bottom and her long hair…

"…I didn't say yes," he whispered.

**End Chapter**

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><p><strong>Crimsonwings92: <strong>Hehehe, okay cool. Please read and review. I'm trying to make sure I stay a couple chapters ahead so I'm not stuck without a chapter when it's time to upload again. See you in the next chapter! Ciao!


	7. Chapter 7: Welcome to My Home

**Crimsonwings92: **Hahahaha- don't kill me! Oh my God, it's been…too many months to count, but here I am and I gots another chapter with me. I actually do like this story and, at one point, I did have a few chapters written out and ready to post up, but at that same point, I got a virus in my computer and they all waved to me as they were wiped out from my hard drive. Sad day in my world…very sad day. Anyway, I'm back now and it's the summer time and I actually do intend to pick up on some of my stories…eventually. For now, please enjoy this next chapter!

**Disclaimer: **Ya'll know what's up!

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><p><strong>Food and Basketball<strong>

**Chapter 7: Welcome to My Home**

A semi-warm Saturday afternoon at the blue and white two-story Lexington house, probably the last warm afternoon they were going to have from the looks of the clouds that have been gathering on the horizon, and the boys, all dressed down in basketball shorts and t-shirts, were going to enjoy every last ray of warm sun they could while they still had it. Riku was to be the host this time, which was easy since all he had to do was open his kitchen, his home, and his backyard basketball court to his four friends. A simple bunch they were; easily pleased, apparently.

"So what do you guys think?" Riku asked the group which consisted of Axel, Roxas, Sora, and Demyx; Axel had brought Demyx along because the mohawked guitarist wanted a change of pace and the redhead thought it would be cool if he were included in the fun.

Riku had just finished telling the others about his little dilemma: whether to go to the dance that coming Friday with one of the girls that had already asked him the week before or to go to the Halloween Town Fair with Tiana, Lauren, and Demyx. He may not have looked it, but he was kind of torn up on the inside about the two decisions.

"I think you're making this harder than it really is," Roxas answered first, dribbling the orange basketball between his feet and then rising up for a shot, the ball going through with a 'whoosh' sound, "Boom! Gimme my change!"

Riku caught the ball on the rebound, a silver eyebrow quirked as he passed it back to the shorter blond, "Oh really? How so?"

"Tch, oh come on, Riku!" he started, setting up for another shot and throwing the ball up, missing it this time as his brother ran to catch it, dribbling it around, "All you've done since last Monday, when Tiana first mentioned the fair, is talk about going. You obviously want to go with Tiana to the fair, so just tell her already."

"But I've never missed a homecoming dance either," the silver-headed teen argued, noticing Sora going for a free-throw next to him and waving his arm in his face to distract him.

"Oh boo freaking hoo, man! It's not like that'll be the only dance this year. Just go to the Winter Formal in December," Roxas replied, rolling his ocean blue eyes and then looking at Demyx who was over in a lawn chair, playing a soft tune on his guitar, "Can you believe this guy, Dem?"

The dirty-blond teen only grinned widely and shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, I already know that I'm going to the fair with Lauren, so I'm not even worried about it. But seriously, Riku, you should go with us; we don't want any third wheels, ya know? Hehe."

Riku scratched the side of his cheek, still looking unsure, "Well…I don't know."

"Dude, what are you hesitating for?" Roxas exclaimed in exasperation, ruffling his own hair.

"Riku, man, just go to the fair," Axel finally interjected after having stolen the ball from Sora, twirling it around his own back while running towards the basket and going for a lay-up, "You'll have fun. Probably more fun than you've ever had at any high school dance. They've got rides and games and a Fright Show in the big tent; it'll be cool, plus you'll be with people that you like and we all know that you like Tiana. You hang out with her almost every day and just the mention of her name makes you smile…like right now."

"Huh?" Riku replied, the smile that was there instantly dropping from his face before he rolled his eyes and held his hands up for the ball, which Axel passed to him, "Whatever. If I go to the fair with Tiana, then what am I going to tell Melinda? I mean, she did ask me to Home Coming; she even went out and bought her dress already."

"Tell her what you tell her every year," Sora started before he, Axel, and Roxas all said simultaneously, "_**NO**_."

Demyx chuckled and shook his head as the other boys laughed at Riku's expense and Roxas said, "Seriously, dude, you make things way more complicated than they really have to be."

"That Riku…he'll come around eventually…I guess," Demyx said to himself, perking up a second later when his phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID, answering it soon after, "Hey, what's up?"

The other boys didn't even notice that Demyx was on the phone, all of them too busy poking fun at Riku to notice the dirty-blond stand up from his chair and walk over to the gate leading from the backyard to the front of the house. He peered over and smiled, speaking in to the phone a final time then hanging up.

"Hey, guys, Lauren and Tiana are here," he announced, effectively catching the other four's attention, chuckling when he saw Riku's eyes light up by just that much.

"Oh, cool. Why? Did you invite them or something?" Sora asked, cradling the basketball under his arm for a mere second before Riku popped it out and took it.

Demyx shook his head as he unlatched the lock on the gate, "No, Lauren came to return my U.S. Government book so I can do my homework. She had borrowed it yesterday cuz she forgot hers at school."

All five boys walked through the gate to the front of the house where they saw a dark red SUV parked in the driveway. Lauren was just getting out of the driver's seat when Demyx reached her, the dark-skinned girl grinning widely as she shut the door, a thick, hard-cover book under her arm.

"There you are! God, got me looking all over town for you!" she joked, poking Demyx in the stomach playfully before giving him a hug, "I had to ask your mom where you were."

The musician chuckled and put his arm around Lauren's neck, getting all buddy-buddy with her, "Aw, you know you had fun looking for me, heh heh."

Said girl rolled her eyes and slammed his book into his chest with a grin, "Sure, cuz I enjoy burning all my gas lookin' for your disappearing ass. I should make you fill up my tank!"

While the two bickered back and forth with each other, resembling a cute couple having a playful argument, Riku 'casually' made his way over to the car's passenger side window, bouncing the ball from hand to hand and between his feet to look cool.

"Hey," he said to the occupant of the passenger seat once he made it to the window.

Burgundy eyes locked with teal green, Tiana smiling at Riku in greeting, "What's up, kid?"

The young man chuckled as he set the ball against the corner of the window near the rearview mirror, leaning against it with his fist holding up his head, "Kid? Last time I checked, I was a year older than you."

"That don't mean a damn thang!" Tiana responded, giggling, "So what's up? What are you guys doing? I see the whole gang is here."

"Nothing really, just shooting some hoops," the silver-haired male answered, staring at Tiana as she nodded her head, as if agreeing with an opinion of his, "…You straightened your hair today."

Tiana blinked and then ran her fingers through her black hair which was normally curly-wavy, but today laid flat against her head in shiny, straight locks, "Oh yeah…Lauren figured I needed a new look every now and then and straightened it for me."

"A grueling and torturous process! Your hair is ridiculous!" said girl interjected, looking in through the open window on the driver's side at her best friend.

"Hey, you offered and you know how crazy my hair is. No one's fault but yours," Tiana retorted with her hands up, the words being exchanged by the two girls making Riku and Demyx smile in amusement.

"I like it. It looks pretty," Riku complimented, flicking some of the straight hair away from her face, making her laugh a little.

"Aw, thanks sugar plum! You're looking particularly gorgeous yourself today with your gray wife-beater, black basketball shorts and ratty basketball shoes," Tiana laughed as Riku rolled his eyes and huffed at her sarcasm, "Hey, I don't think I've ever seen you with your hair tied back before. That's a new look."

Here, Riku's hand subconsciously went to the low ponytail in the back of his head, tugging at his long silver locks gingerly and shrugging, "Yeah, well, it gets in the way sometimes when I play ball so…wait a minute, yes you have! That night when you came to the basketball game with Lauren, Kairi, and Namine, I had it tied back then."

She just blinked.

"You remember, don't you? The night that Axel made his…comment?"

Tick. Tick. Ding!

"Oh yeah, I remember that night!" she exclaimed, but then clicked her tongue, "Man, I don't remember seeing you with a low-ponytail. I wasn't even paying that much attention to the game let alone to your hair style."

Teal orbs rolled around in their sockets and said sarcastically, "Well, that makes me feel good. So, what are you and Lauren up to right now? You girls going somewhere?"

Tiana shrugged, "I don't know, I really don't think so. Lauren just called me this morning, demanding that I get up and go out with her. She picked me up about a half hour ago and was about to start driving downtown, I think, when she remembered that she had to give Demyx back his book, so we turned around for his house only to find out that he wasn't even there. So, she asked his mom where he was, she said he was here, so…here we are."

"Sounds like fun," Riku joked playfully, chuckling as Tiana rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Well, since you two really aren't doing something that was pre-planned, why don't you come inside for a bit and hang out? Chill for a while?"

Tiana giggled, "You gotta ask the driver. I don't want her leaving my ass."

"Do you have food?" Lauren inquired, looking at Riku who snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Of course I got food."

"Get your ass out the car, girlie," was all the girl said as she opened the driver's side door, reaching in and rolled up both windows before taking out her key and shutting the door.

"Well, guess that answers that question," Tiana mumbled as Riku opened her door and let her step out, closing it after her and hearing the 'beep' sound when Lauren locked it with her key.

Now that she was standing right in front of him, Riku got a good look at her entire appearance and did a full body sweep. Tiana looked cute yet comfortable in a pair of dark blue jeans that hugged her voluptuous hips, a black off-the-shoulder sweatshirt that had the number 23 printed on it in red and yet still outlined her modest chest, a red tank top underneath, and a pair of black boots. And her new hairstyle, with a black knitted, drag hat sitting on the top of her head and the bangs sweeping across her left eye, definitely caught his attention, although he had to admit that he preferred the curly look better. Tiana noticed him staring and blinked at him.

"What are you staring at me for?" she asked, starting to fidget a little and mess with her hair, starting to feel a little self-conscious.

He fought down a blush at being caught and played it off, his eyebrows knitting together as he pointed at her face, "I was staring at that bump on your face."

Tiana's hands flew to her face, her eyes wide, "Bump? What bump? Where?"

"Right here," a pale hand reached out and grabbed the 'bump' between her eyes, "Oh, sorry, that was just your nose."

Tiana blinked, glared, and then lowered her hands to her sides, balling them into fists.

"Hahahaha-ugh!"

…Oh no, it's okay. He enjoys feeling pain, especially in his stomach area and he prefers to have it administered to him by an angry little female with a powerful punch.

"Jerk," she muttered, crossing her arms and then turning to follow Lauren and Demyx into the house while Sora, Roxas, and Axel all fell apart in peals of laughter at Riku's expense.

"Oh my god, she got you good, man!" Sora cheered with a cheeky grin, catching Tiana as she was passing him and throwing his arm around her shoulders, "Tiana, you are one cool chick! Have I ever told you that?"

"No, but it's nice to hear it every now and then, hehe."

As Tiana and Sora entered the house, Roxas and Axel went to Riku's aid, although they couldn't really stop snickering. Axel bent down a little to get a look at Riku's face, the boy in question still hunched over a little in slight pain.

"How ya feel, dude?" the redhead asked with a smirk.

Riku looked up at him with a small glare before he smirked back and stood up slowly, his eyes fixating themselves on the front door, "I feel just fine *cough*…Yeah…just fine."

Roxas and Axel laughed loudly at his words, clutching their middles as all three boys made their way into the house. They heard laughter coming from the living room and upon turning the corner, saw Demyx, Lauren, Sora and Tiana lounging about. Demyx and Lauren were sharing the loveseat together, getting rather close and comfy with one another; Tiana was sitting in one corner of the couch while Sora sat on the floor by her legs, grinning big at the other three as they all shared a joke. Riku walked over to the couch, stepped around Sora, and took a place next to Tiana, the girl rolling her eyes with a little smirk.

Sora, catching himself situated between Riku's legs when the other male sat down, jumped to the side, quickly asserting, "Dude, no homo."

Riku waved him off, "Ah, calm down. It's not like I tea-bagged you or anything."

"Gross."

"Ew."

The only two girls in the room contorted their faces into disgust at Riku's sentence, earning snickers and chuckles from the other males. However, those chuckles soon disappeared and the boys found themselves simply staring at the girls as the conversation continued.

"That's gross, like that picture we saw that one time. Remember? The one from that adult site we accidentally stumbled upon," Tiana said, looking over at Lauren for confirmation.

The braided girl looked blank for a minute before she tilted her head to the side, "Adult site? What adult site?"

"You remember! I don't remember the name of it, but I remember the picture. It was some chick lying down on the bed and some guy had his sac over her eyes. We were laughing at it for like three minutes because his nuts looked like those little squeeze balls that people with anger issues use to relieve stress," Tiana explained, laughing as she did so.

Lauren stayed blank for a second longer then she gasped in realization and laughed almost hysterically, "Hahahahaha! I remember that now. Yeah! It was hilarious! And right next to that picture was another one about some cartoon chick and dude. What was that called?"

"Hentai or something like that, right?"

"Yeah! Didn't we watch one? Like a five minute video or something? It was about some detective that needed to get some information out of this slut who turned out to be some hardcore FBI agent that was trailing him because they were trying to figure out if he was a double agent. During the entire sex scene they were talking! Who the hell talks during sex! Like a full blown conversation?" Lauren exclaimed, both girls just falling out in laughter.

"Apparently people that don't know how to get laid properly. 'Hey, should we get purple curtains for the living room?' 'I don't know. We'll stop by Wal-Mart once I'm done screwing you.' Shut the hell up and finish! Hahaha!" Tiana replied.

The five males in the room could only stare at the girls as they laughed and had their conversation, Demyx simply staring at Lauren and Riku trying to figure out what to make of Tiana's little venture with her best friend while also wondering if she took those ventures solo and never told anyone.

Finally, one of the boys found their voice enough to jump in and actually say what was on every guys' mind; "…You two watch porn?" Axel asked, looking astounded between the two girls and even a little turned on.

"Hell no. That was literally, like, a one-time deal," the bigger girl answered, crossing her arms as she leaned against the back of the couch, "…I forgot what we were doing, but we just ended up on one of those triple x sites, got curious and watched a video or two."

"Or three," Lauren added with a shrug.

"Or four, but enough about that," Tiana finished, crossing one leg over the other.

Axel didn't exactly let it go right then, "B-But wait! How can you two sit here and talk about porn sites like it's nothing and expect us to just drop it? Does no one else -oof!"

"They said enough with that," Riku repeated firmly with narrowed eyes, his arm outstretched after he threw the pillow at Axel's face, the redhead scowling a little before he leaned back in the recliner and seemed to pout childishly.

"Yeah! Enough with that and let's get on to something more important, like the question I asked you before Riku, Axel, and Roxas came in!" Sora piped up, grinning widely at Tiana who only rolled her eyes.

"No, Sora."

"Please, Tiana, I just want to know!"

"I know you just want to know, but don't ask me about it."

"Just tell me if anyone has asked Kairi to the dance!"

"A-And Namine! Has anyone asked Namine to the dance?"

"Why don't you two just ask them yourselves? It'll be much easier, trust me."

"Please, Tiana."

"Look, boys, I'm not-"

"PLEEEAAAASSSEEEE!"

Tiana stammered and moved her mouth open and closed like a fish would, unable to respond negatively as she stared at the twin brothers before her who were both giving her the sad, kitty cat look.

"Eh-uh…ah…well…uh…" she tried, biting her lip when the words wouldn't come out before she turned her head, pointed at her best friend, and said, "Ask Lauren! She spends more time with them than I do!"

"Hey, don't sick them on me!" the other girl cried in alarm, "I-AH!"

"Plllleeeaaassee Lauren!"

"You guys, that's not fair!" said girl cried out in pity, curling herself up on the loveseat, clutching onto Demyx and leaning away from the two pouting, wide-eyed twins, "Demyx, make them stop!"

The teen musician merely laughed and shook his head, "Sorry, Lauren, there's nothing I can do about these two. They've got some power, hahaha!"

Lauren was afraid she would have to break and tell the twins what they wanted to know, thus going against the girl code, but lo and behold, she was saved as the front door open and a feminine voice floated through the air.

"Riku, I'm home! Where are you boys?"

Around the corner and into the living room, her purse over her shoulder and a couple grocery bags in her hands, came a very beautiful, older woman. She had light blue hair, a color that could easily be seen in Riku's hair at certain angles, which went past her shoulder blades in wavy locks. Her skin was white and lovely and her eyes were a deep blue that lit up with laughter and gentle kindness. However, at the moment, they gleamed with curiosity as she laid her eyes on Tiana and Lauren.

"Oh my…new friends of yours, my son?" the woman, obviously Riku's mother from her endearment, asked in that light, feathery voice that was still filled with warmth.

"Uh, yeah. This is Tiana Sellers and Lauren Campbell," the teen introduced as the girls in question stood up to greet the lady of the house, "Lauren was bringing Demyx's book back to him and I invited them to stay and hang out for a little while."

"Oh, how lovely! It's nice to meet you girls! My name is Maria Lexington; I'm Riku's mother!" the woman greeted cheerfully with a bright smile, holding her hand out for the girls to shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lexington," Lauren said first, shaking the woman's hand politely.

"Please, darling, Mrs. Lexington makes me feel so old. You two can just call me Maria, hehehe."

"I hope you don't mind, ma'am, but I would prefer to call you Ms. Maria," Tiana replied as she shook the woman's hand next, smiling when she blinked curiously, "I was just raised to respect my elders that way. And by the way, Ms. Maria, you are so very pretty."

Maria blinked again before her eyes grew big and bright, she dropped the bags to the floor, and clasped her hands together in awe, "Well aren't you just the sweetest thing!"

In the blink of an eye, Maria had Tiana's head in a tight grasp as she held the girl to her chest, fawning over her and her manners like an over-eager mother would, his mother's actions making Riku sigh and shake his head in amusment. The ebony girl coughed and gasped from the tight embrace, struggling to continue talking.

"I-I hope we're not imposing…or anything?" she ground out.

"Oh, of course not!" Maria insisted, releasing the girl and giving Tiana the opportunity to inhale deeply before she was grabbed by the shoulders, "In fact, why don't I make you kids some chocolate chip cookies, hm? Will you two be able to stay for that?"

Tiana and Lauren looked at each other, grinning wide before turning back to the older woman; "Sure, that sounds great!" Lauren replied, bowing slightly to the woman, "Thank you for having us in your home!"

Maria clicked her tongue and waved it off, "With girls as respectful as you two, you're more than welcomed here. Now come on, you kids, to the kitchen!"

Following the command, and the hyperactive woman, all seven teenagers obediently rose up from their seats and trekked after Maria into the kitchen, where they sat at the table and waited patiently as the motherly female zipped around in preparation of the treat. As she did, she observed the boys with the two girls; more specifically, her son with Tiana. She was very different from the types of girls Riku had dated in the past, her figure fuller and curvier than most of them and the fact that she was dark-skinned was also a new one. Not to say that she thought her son was dating her…just yet, but Maria did think there was a possibility that he would sometime in the future. She could tell by the way he stayed exceptionally close to her and kept glancing at her; even now, at the table, he sat right next to her and focused solely on her when she talked and kept looking at her when someone else talked. He laughed at almost everything she said and teased her the most out of everyone at the table, little quips that she threw back at him fearlessly. Tiana was sweet and clever and smart and so very relaxed yet…guarded? Maria found this little barrier a bit strange, but thought nothing else of it as the timer for the first batch of cookies went off and she pulled them out of the oven.

"Okay, you guys…and girl, these are hot. They literally just came out of the oven, so be car-"

"HAWT!"

"What the f-did she not just get done telling us that these were hot? Where the hell were you during that conversation, Axel?" Tiana questioned after rolling her eyes, looking at the redhead as he let his tongue hang out of his mouth while he fanned it with his hand.

The others simply laughed at the poor boy, Tiana soon joining in as she, too, picked up a cookie and blew on it, taking a bite of it a second later. It was warm and sugary in her mouth, the chocolate just melting on her tongue; it was like heaven. The group talked and laughed for about an hour, sharing stories with one another and the boys getting to know the girls better and finding that they were good company to keep.

"Riku, where's your bathroom?" Tiana asked once she calmed down from a laughing fit caused by Sora and Roxas doing an impersonation of the high school bullies, Seifer and Raj, before they were both put in their place by a couple of the seniors who were done with their bad boy antics.

"Up the stairs, second door on your right. Try not to get lost," the silver-haired teen responded, chuckling when Tiana swatted at his hair before standing up to locate said vicinity.

Maria watched her son carefully and nearly burst into laughter when she caught him staring after the pretty ebony girl, his eyes straying from the top of her head to her rounded backside, the lids of his eyes falling just a little to give him a sultry look that indicated he liked what he saw.

'Oh my…so much like his father,' she thought in amusement, returning her attention to the cookies she was still making, her heart fluttering happily when the sounds of the other teenagers' laughter filled her kitchen.

Upstairs, the sound of flushing came from one of the rooms and after a few moments, the second door on the right opened and the light was cut off. Tiana exited the bathroom, feeling relieved and a lot more comfortable now as she closed to the door behind her. She had the intention of going right back downstairs, but the collection of pictures on the wall parallel to the bathroom caught her attention. She didn't notice them when she was first coming up to the bathroom because she was a bit preoccupied with not letting her bladder explode; now that she could focus, she was intrigued to find that they were all pictures of Riku and his family…a family that she never really asked about before.

In one frame, there was a picture of who Tiana believed were Riku's parents: pretty Maria Lexington with her pretty light blue hair, clear blue eyes and creamy white skin holding the hand of a tall, handsome man with moon pale skin, long silver hair that definitely constituted him to be Riku's father and shimmering green eyes that held Maria's gaze tenderly. The two looked truly to be in love and as Tiana studied the picture, tilting her head to the side, she wondered if she could ever find that sort of happiness too. Honestly, that kind of love was obviously real, so it can't be that impossible for her…right?

Shaking her head at herself, her eyes scanned over the other pictures, soon settling on another picture of what looked to be Riku and…his brothers maybe? There were four of them in the frame, Riku part of that four and they were all dressed in black tuxedos and turned inwards, two on the right and two on the left. They all had the same silver hair that was trademarked by their father, two of them having longer silver hair like Riku, but the last one had his cut short and spiked up. However, every single male in that picture had the same teal colored eyes, Riku's being a softer, brighter green…or was she just being biased? Tiana had to admit that all four boys were devilishly handsome, so much so that she felt a blush rush to her cheeks which was ridiculous because it was a picture she was staring at.

"Moving on," she muttered to herself, looking over the rest of the pictures, finding the usual ones of being with family, solo pictures of each brother, and then, she found one that made her gasp and nearly squeal.

It was a picture of Riku when he was just a little baby! He was dressed in a blue onesy and laying on his stomach on a white blanket placed on the floor. His hair was infinitely shorter and even looked to be more white than silver and his cute, cherubic little face was turned curiously towards the camera, his big round, and green eyes peered back at her with all the innocence of a little angel.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus, he's so cute!" she gushed in a hushed voice, her hands over her mouth as she giggled almost uncontrollably, "Oh my God, I have to get a picture of this!"

Diving into her pocket, she withdrew her iPhone to snap a picture for posterity, unaware of another person coming up the stairs to retrieve her. Riku stopped at the top of the stairs and tilted his head to the side curiously as he watched Tiana get up on her tiptoes with her arms stretched out, her iPhone in hand. She had been upstairs for quite some time and even though his earlier jab at her getting lost was just made for fun, he had wondered if she really did get lost up there.

"Tiana, what are you doing?" he questioned as he made to stand right behind her, peering over her shoulder to her phone.

Unexpectedly, she whirled around and all but shoved her phone in his face, his baby picture on display and the brightest smile on her face, "Bam! Just getting picture proof that you were the cutest baby in existence! Oh my stars, look at those eyes!"

Before Riku could comprehend what was said exactly, Tiana retracted her hand back to look at her screen, gushing over the picture girlishly. The male blinked his eyes at her, realizing for the first time that Tiana has never acted like this before, so giddy and mushy and excited. Well, at least, she's never acted like this in front of him before. He wondered for a minute what that meant for them, in terms of their friendship/relationship. Were they closer? Was she starting to feel more comfortable around him to let her guard down a little more? Or was this simply a fluke and she didn't realize herself that she was acting like this? Regardless of the answer, Riku found this side of her to be incredibly adorable and he felt the urge, himself, to take out his camera and get this all on film or something.

"Oh, that was fun. New wallpaper," Tiana declared, turning her back to Riku to look at the wall of photos again.

Well, too late for that idea.

Shaking his head, the silver-headed male stepped closer towards her and looked at the photos too, "So is this what's kept you up here all this time? My family pictures?"

"Uh…yeah! Riku, how many people besides your friends can say that they've seen your family pictures? Including your baby picture! Not many, I'm guessing," the ebony teen replied with a laugh, pointing up towards the picture of Riku with the four other silver-headed boys, "Are those your brothers?"

Teal eyes followed her finger, "Yeah. That's Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz; Kadaj is the oldest."

"Really?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, "Interesting…I thought Loz was the oldest…maybe it's because of his face."

"Hahaha! His face? What's wrong with it?"

"I didn't say anything was wrong with it! He just looks older, that's all," Tiana explained, rolling her eyes as she lightly smacked Riku in his stomach.

The boy rubbed it a little and chuckled, "Well, you're not totally wrong. Loz is the second oldest, followed by Yazoo and then me."

"Wow, four boys and no girls. I feel sorry for your mom," she teased with a small grin, glancing at her companion.

Riku merely rolled his eyes at her and smirked, "Trust me, you're not the first one to say that."

"What are they like?"

"Um, it's a bit hard to explain. They're the kind of people that you'll have to meet in order to understand because no amount of words can properly and appropriately explain them."

"Hmmm," Tiana hummed thoughtfully, getting to her tiptoes every now and then to get a better look at the other pictures that were a bit high up on the wall.

Riku occupied himself with watching her out of the corner of his eye; after all, he sees those pictures every day, so they were nothing new. Having Tiana in his house to see those pictures: completely new and ten times more interesting. The teen smiled warmly and turned his body towards her.

"Do you have any siblings, Tia?" he asked curiously.

"Nope."

Her answer was so quick and final that it caught the boy off guard and made him stumble just a bit, "Oh, okay then…do you ever feel lonely without them?"

Another shrug of the shoulders; "Can't really say since I've never had siblings. I have friends, for the most part, so I'm not really lonely and we would probably just end up being separated anyway so…it's whatever."

"Separated? What do you mean?"

"It's a long and complicated story."

Riku scratched the back of his neck, finding himself even more intrigued by Tiana and her secrets that no one else seems to know. This was obviously not something she wanted to talk about and he got the hint like the smart boy he was, so he stored it away for a later date and was about to move on to another topic, probably to suggest they head back downstairs, when he heard rapid footsteps coming up towards them followed by Lauren's voice.

"There you are!" she cried to Tiana as she reached the top step, followed by Demyx, "Oh my God, I was so worried when you and Riku didn't come back downstairs. I thought he was up here raping you or something."

"What? That's not even funny!"

"But I'm glad to see that you're okay!" she continued, ignoring the indignant expression on Riku's face, drawing a giggle from her best friend, "Anyway, we should get going. I still want to take you somewhere that I'm sure you'll love! And we have a bag full of Mrs. Lexington's cookies to hold us over until dinner!"

Tiana smiled at that, "Sweet, let's get going then."

The four teens went back downstairs, Riku grumbling to himself and pulling a chuckle from Demyx as they went into the kitchen. Maria Lexington was perched on the granite island in the kitchen, talking with the other three boys that were left to themselves. When she saw the girls, her eyes lit up and she dismounted from her perch.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, Ms. Maria. It was super sweet of you to welcome us into your home," Lauren said to the woman, beaming brightly at her.

"Oh, sweetheart, it was no trouble at all. You two have been a delight to have over," the older woman gushed as she gave Lauren a hug and then moved on to Tiana, "Now neither one of you be a stranger here, okay? Especially you, Tiana. My son seems to have taken more than just a liking to you."

"Mom! Seriously?" Riku groaned, his cheeks red as he dragged his hand down the length of his face, hearing Tiana laugh beside him.

Maria merely tittered and waved her son's embarrassment off, "Anyway, you two be safe out there and I hope to see you again!"

Tiana and Lauren nodded with identical smiles towards the woman; "Will do, Ms. Maria. See you guys later!" the latter bid to the three other boys who all chorused their own goodbyes.

Demyx and Riku volunteered to walk the girls to the door, but not before Riku leaned in towards his mother and muttered, "Seriously, mom, that was not cool."

"Oh, my sweet little boy! You're so cute when you're embarrassed!" the woman chirped as she pinched his cheeks.

Riku just groaned as he swatted her hand away and swiveled about towards the door, following his three companions. He and Demyx stood just outside the door as the two girls made their leave, waving goodbye.

"See you Monday, yeah?" Lauren asked the blond musician, the male grinning widely and nodding his head.

"Of course, but I'll be texting you later."

Lauren giggled and winked, "Looking forward to it. Later!"

"Later."

"Alright, kid, holla atch'ya girl!" Tiana said to Riku with a laugh, playfully punching him in his shoulder, "See you Monday."

"Yup," he replied with a smirk as he caught her hand in his, absently stroking her palm with his thumb while joking with her, "Try not to miss me too much."

"Oh please, I'll miss your mom's cookies before I miss you," she shot back, slipping her hand from his grasp and turning to head to the car.

"Wow, you wound my pride, madam!"

"Good, I accomplished something today! See ya, Riku!"

"Bye, Tiana."

Both teen boys watched the girls hop into the red SUV, the vehicle roaring to life and backing up out of the driveway. Just before they drove off, Tiana rolled down her window, copied Lauren in blowing a kiss in the boys' direction and then laughed as they drove off. Riku and Demyx both chuckled at their silly antics, staring off down the street until the SUV completely disappeared. They were immersed into silence, the sun's warm rays flooding over them as it began its' slow descent towards the horizon, casting shadows all around them.

Demyx turned towards Riku with a knowing smile, "So, still strongly considering going to homecoming instead of the Halloween Town Fair?"

Teal eyes gazed at the blond silently, Riku simply shrugging his shoulders. Demyx laughed and shook his head, making to walk back into the house, but not before addressing his friend again.

"Whatever, dude. I'm sure you'll come to your senses eventually."

Riku watched Demyx leave out of the corner of his eye, opting for staying out in the sun for a minute longer, just to enjoy the solitude. He stared at the spot where Lauren's SUV was once parked, still hearing Tiana's laugh as if she were right there and still feeling her hand in his. He looked down at his open palm, feeling the ghostly touch of her fingers brushing his wrist and the soft flesh of her palm underneath his fingers. He clenched his hand and let it drop back to his side; he had some thinking to do.

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><p><strong>End Chapter<strong>

**Crimsonwings92: **Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think. Tell you why I love this story; because it has a bit more real life in it. Not every girl has Tinkerbell's or Barbie's waistline. Some girls are quite voluptuous, but that doesn't make them ugly or anti-social or anything. That and because it's my first story involving a bigger girl and I think it's going quite well. I hope Tiana is still staying a true character and not moving in to the Mary-Sue division because that would just make me cry. Anyway, until next time friends! Ciao!


	8. Chapter 8: Final Decisions

**Crimsonwings92: **Hehe, I am most proud of myself for getting the next chapter up within record time. I finally got my groove back, well most of it, and am really feeling this story. Please enjoy this next chapter! It was fun to write.

**Disclaimer: **I own what I own.

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><p><strong>Food and Basketball<strong>

**Chapter 8: Final Decisions**

Ah, Monday…the most hated day of the week. The day that everyone dreads arriving because it means the end of the awesome, school-free weekend and the beginning of five days worth of hell. Monday is the devil's love child and there isn't a teenager in all of Twilight Town that won't agree with you. Riku yawned tiredly as he turned into the school parking lot, quickly locating a space with his eagle eye and zooming into it before anyone else could snag it. Around this time in the morning, it got kind of competitive for parking spaces, so one always had to be quick and stealthy. Cutting the engine on his car, the teen athlete took a moment to himself in the solitude of his car, running a pale hand through his silver locks to brush them out of his face only to have them fall right back into his eyes no more than a second later. The silverheaded teen was never really a morning person let alone a _Monday _morning person and it definitely showed for the first hour that he was actually at school: he was silent, his eyes were distant and tired looking, and his mood was short and a bit snappy. Sighing, Riku left the sanctuary of his car and joined his fellow peers as they all milled around here and there, blending in with the crowd of teen zombies.

Regardless of how much he hated Mondays, he was actually looking forward to this particular Monday because it would put an end to about two weeks of indecision. He drifted with the flow of traffic down the concrete walkway, up the stairs and through the maze of hallways until he made it to his locker, vaguely noting how nearly everyone were now donning jackets and sweaters and jeans and boots; the temperature practically dropped 15 degrees the night before. The crisp freshness of autumn was slowly making way for the cold winter…and Homecoming was literally around the corner. Before Riku even had his locker open, he was all but swarmed by three girls, each one just as pretty as the last one.

"Good morning, Riku," a pretty redhead greeted him, the girl giggling flirtatiously as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger, her blond and dark haired friends batting their eyelashes.

Still not a morning person, but not wanting to be rude, the teen looked at her and forced a small smile, "Hey Rosy, Tina, Cammy. How are you girls?"

"We're fine, thanks!" Tina, the dark haired one, squeaked, blushing brightly at how over excited she sounded in front of the coolest guy in school, "H-How are you?"

"I'm okay, thanks for asking," Riku answered, turning back to his locker to put his unneeded books away, thinking that the conversation was over and he could go back to being a zombie.

When the girls didn't leave and remained right in front of him, smiling that sickeningly sweet and creepy smile all three of them shared, he sighed and gave them his attention again, less than enthusiastic about it; "So…is there anything else you ladies needed?" he asked them in a flat voice, fearing he already knew what they were there for.

"Well, now that you mention it," Cammy, the blond, drawled, trying her hand at seduction by putting her finger to her lip-glossed lips and batting her eyelashes up at him, "We were just wondering if you've got anyone to go to the dance with yet?"

'Oh gee, what a surprise,' Riku thought despairingly to himself, resisting the urge to roll his eyes as he said, "Actually no. The thing is-"

"Great! So how about taking one of us?" Rosy jumped in, getting rather close to the basketball player.

"Well, you see-"

"Or you can take all three of us. What guy wouldn't want three hot girls on his arm?"

"Yeah?" Cammy and Tina echoed, causing Riku to stammer just a bit from the shock.

"Uh…"

"I'll tell you what guy wouldn't want that," a new feminine voice interrupted, the four other individuals turning to see who it was that spoke.

Standing before them, in a pair black stiletto boots, red tights, black short-shorts, a low cut blouse and a tight jacket was a gorgeous brunette with wet brown eyes, fully, silky hair, and pink, luscious, kissable lips. She had this devious smirk on her face, her eyes narrowed seductively as she strutted her way up to Riku, putting a petite hand on his chest.

"The guy that's going to take me to the Homecoming dance, that's who," she finished, casting a sultry smile up at the male.

"…Hey Molly," Riku greeted the new female flatly, averting his gaze to the side while simultaneously trying to not appear disgusted; Molly was no doubt one of the most beautiful girls in school. Guys practically fell over themselves just trying to catch her attention and Riku was not going to lie and say he didn't find her attractive, but she just acted so desperate while also acting so arrogant and conceited and full of herself that it turned him off. Big time!

The brunette was unaffected by his dull greeting as she smiled at him and caressed his chest, which give him the shivers in the worst possible way; "Hey there, sexy," she whispered close to his ear while looping her arm through his, Riku leaning away and scrunching up his nose, "So here's what you're going to do. You're going to get rid of these three desperate sluts then you're going to ditch class with me and we're both going to go shopping for matching Homecoming outfits."

Yeah, another thing that Riku absolutely despised about Molly: she was way too bossy for his taste and it wasn't even in a cute way. He looked down at her; saw all the foundation and blush and eyeliner and mascara and eye-shadow and lipstick that were caked on her face. It wasn't attractive at all in his eyes so he scowled and slipped his arm from hers, brushing imaginary dust from his sweat jacket sleeve.

"Actually, Molly, I'm not going to Homecoming this year," he told her, earning a gasp of surprise from all four females, Molly looking the most slighted as she gaped dramatically and held a hand to her heart.

"What? What do you mean you're not going to Homecoming?" she exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at the taller boy.

This time, Riku did roll his, quite finished with the conversation at this point, "I mean exactly what I said; I'm not going to Homecoming. I have other plans for that night."

"Oh really?" Molly crossed her arms challengingly, tapping her perfectly manicured nails on her hollow of her elbow, "And what, exactly, other plans do you have that are so important it has to be on the same night as Homecoming?"

"Oh, you know." He replied with a smirk as his eyes flickered to the familiar girl just walking past him and the four other girls, "Exciting plans," he drew so close to Molly that his cool breath brushed over her face and made her blush, "that are none of your business. Hey, Tiana!"

Said girl stopped in her tracks and swiveled around, her black curls flying about her head as her reddish-brown eyes focused on him, "Huh?"

"Where are you going?" he asked with a smirk, completely disregarding the four beautiful girls that were staring between him and Tiana curiously and with a hint of jealousy.

Tiana blinked and pushed her hair behind her ear, "My locker, why?"

"Wait for me. I'll walk you," he said, taking out the necessary books from his own locker.

The ebony skinned girl rolled her eyes playfully and grinned, "Alright, well hurry up! You know how you like to lag it; I don't want to be late for my first class."

"Hahaha, you're so funny," he retorted sarcastically, closing his locker and slinging his backpack over his shoulder, moving to fall into step with the curly haired girl and leave the other females behind.

Rosy, Tina, Cammy, and Molly all stared after the pair with wide eyes and open mouths, Molly looking the most scandalized. How could Riku just brush her off so easily like that? How could he say 'no' to her like that? She was the hottest girl in school, dammit, and she deserved Riku's attention! And…And…

"Who the hell is that bitch of a cow he's walking next to?" she sneered in a dangerously quiet voice, her eyes locking on to Tiana's full figure, her nose scrunching up in disgust at the extra flesh.

Tina crossed her arms and scoffed at being made a fool of like that by Riku…but of course, she wasn't going to put up much of a fuss because it was Riku and she couldn't stay mad at him for too long; "That's Tiana Sellers, a junior," she answered Molly's question, "Riku's been hanging out with her quite a bit lately."

"Is that so?" the brunette mumbled with a dark look in her eye, "…That is so not cool."

They watched the pair stroll down the hall with Tiana, both of them chumming around together and laughing like old friends. Molly's jealousy only flared up even more when Riku drew closer to his companion, casually slinging his arm around her shoulders and making them appear to be more than just friends to the public eye.

"Yeah…definitely not cool."

Riku sighed and leaned heavily against the locker next to Tiana's, the back of his head connecting with the metal and making a 'clanking' sound. His ebony friend peered up at him as she turned the combination on her locker and opened it up, grinning while putting her books away.

"What's up? You seem exhausted and it's only…7:42 in the morning," she inquired.

The boy chuckled and closed his eyes, "Yeah, well, for one thing, I absolutely hate Mondays."

"As does every teenager across the nation."

"Funny. Two, I was just swarmed by three girls and touched by _Molly_," Riku finished, scrunching up his nose and sticking out his tongue as if he smelt something foul.

"Isn't Molly the hottest girl in school?"

"Yeah."

"And you're all up in a tizzy because she touched you?"

"Tia, Molly is a disgusting girl! I mean, I'm surprised you're not talking shit about her like you girls like to do about each other because, oh my god, her shoes are ugly or something like that."

"I see someone spends too much of his time watching Glee and Degrassi," Tiana teased, giggling to herself when Riku graced her with a half-hearted glare, "Anyway, why were you swarmed by three girls plus Molly?"

Riku groaned as his brows pinched together in aggravation, "Homecoming is this Friday and word got out that I didn't have a date for the dance. So now the girls are really starting to push."

"Awwww, SHO-CKER!" the girl responded sarcastically, smirking at the taller boy when he turned up the heat on his glare.

"You're a mean, mean girl, you know that?" he muttered, rolling his eyes skyward while enduring his companion's laughter at his expense.

"Seriously though, Riku, why don't you just say yes to one of them? Just get over with and get yourself off the market. The longer you wait, the bloodier the bath will be."

His glare softened into a grin now, the sleep slowly but surely leaving him wide awake and alert, "Feeling poetic today, are we? Hehe, let the bath get bloody, I don't really care. I'm not going to Homecoming anyway."

Tiana stopped and stared up at her fellow peer that had become a good friend of hers in the past month that they've known each other, tilting her head curiously at the bright flash in his eyes, "You're not? Why?"

"Because," Riku started, turning fully to face Tiana, the autumn sun striking his profile and giving him this handsome glow that would make any girl swoon, "I'm going to the Halloween Town Fair with you, Lauren, and Demyx."

She blinked then raised her finger and opened her mouth to say something only to stop short and furrow her brows in confusion, her finger curling back down as if deflating. All of those actions were very funny to Riku and he was only just able to catch a laugh in his fist.

"Uuuuhhh…really? That's…That's cool," Tiana finally got out, looking quite bewildered as she thoughtfully closed her locker, "So…When did you decide that?"

He leaned his shoulder against the locker, "Yesterday. I thought about what you said before, about Homecoming dances all being the same, and I realized that you were right, so why not change it up a little this year? It'll be fun, especially since I'll have great company."

"Darn skippy you'll have great company!" she declared with a laugh, looking up as the bell for the start of first period rang, "Welp, there's the bell!"

"Hehe, yeah. There it is," Riku agreed, his eyes never leaving the girl in front of him.

Tiana gazed up at him, matching his smile as the two immersed into a sort of comfortable silence. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes zoning in on his left ear and squinting slightly. She lifted her hand towards his face, Riku watching the action out of the side of his eye and shivering a little when her fingers grazed his cheek and then lightly gripped his left earlobe. The girl giggled lowly as she fiddled with it, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

"You and your refusal to put your earring in this ear. Look, it's already closed up!" she reprimanded playfully.

Riku draped his fingers over her wrist and chuckled deeply, unknowingly pressing her hand more against his cheek, "It's only going to open up again if you pierce it."

"Good look being off balance!"

The basketball player was left dumbstruck as Tiana turned on her heel and sauntered down the hall, mixing with the other students clamoring to get to their respective classrooms before the second bell. The teen took a moment to admire the girl as she walked away, as he always did, noticing how she looked just as pretty in her blue jeans, white Nikes, and white hoody with her hair- now back in those gorgeous curls- pulled over her shoulder into a low ponytail and no make-up as Molly did in her…outfit. Riku smiled and withheld a chuckle as he turned to go to his own class, his spirits much higher than they were a half hour ago.

**After School: Tiana's House**

"_HA! See? I knew he was going to go to the fair instead of the dance!"_

"That means absolutely nothing, Lauren, and you know that."

"_Oh, I don't think so, Tia. The only reason Riku's going is because you're going and you know that."_

"No, it has nothing to do with me! He's going to the fair because he wants to do something different this year. He told me so himself."

"Who are you talking about, baby girl?" an elderly voice called from the living room, Tiana pulling the phone away from her ear long enough to answer.

"Just a guy from school, Granda."

"_Who are you talking to? And where are you, anyway?" _Lauren asked on the other end of the phone.

"In the kitchen making frosted double fudge brownies," the student baker replied, fitting the phone between her ear and shoulder as she broke four eggs into the large bowl with the other ingredients, "Granda's in the living room doing her knitting."

"_Awww! Tell your Granda I said hi!"_

Tiana moved the phone again, "Granda! Lauren says hi!"

"Hello, Lauren baby!" the old woman called back with a short laugh, her knitting needles clicking together as she weaved the yarn between them.

"Granda says hey back," Tiana informed her best friend, measuring the oil to put into the bowl.

"_Awesome. Anyway! If you had told Riku you were going to the dance instead, he would never have thought twice about the fair! I know that and so do you!" _Lauren continued adamantly.

"Oh goodness, will you stop trying to make everything he does into a pass at me? We're friends, that's it! Nothing more!" Tiana argued back, wiping her hands on her apron and setting them on her hips.

"_Yeah, I give it till Christmas."_

"Ugh! Lauren!"

"Who is this boy, Tiana?" Granda called from the living room, making her granddaughter pull the phone away again to answer.

"Just a boy that I hang out with at school."

"What's his name?"

"Riku Lexington."

"Is he a nice boy?"

"Um…yeah, sure."

"I want to meet him," the woman said, still knitting away.

Tiana's eyebrows furrowed together as she groaned, "Oh, come on, Granda!"

"_What? What did she say?" _ Lauren questioned.

"She said she wants to meet Riku," Tiana grumbled as she picked up the bowl and set it under the mixer, turning it on and leaning against the counter with one arm crossed over her chest, her hand settled in the crook of her elbow.

"_Haha! That'll be fun."_

The curly haired girl scowled then called out to her grandmother, "Hey Granda! Lauren has a guy she's hanging out with, too!"

"_SNITCH!"_

"I want to meet them both! You're going to the fair this Friday, right? Have them come by then," the old woman ordered for her word was the last word in her house.

"Yes, Granda," Tiana replied in a sweet voice before putting the phone back to her ear with a knowing smirk, "Granda says she wants to meet Demyx, too, so you have to come by the house this Friday so she can meet them both."

"_You would throw me under your grandma's bus," _Lauren mumbled into the phone causing Tiana to laugh as she turned off the mixer and then carried the bowl over to the counter, but not before setting the oven to the appropriate temperature.

"Your grandfather would want to meet him, too, Tiana," Granda's voice floated again into the kitchen.

"Yeah, when is PopPop coming back from Trinidad anyway?" the young girl wondered.

Granda gave a soft laugh, "He'll be back in time for Thanksgiving; don't you worry about that."

"Yay! PopPop's going to be home for Turkey Day!" Tiana did a little happy dance in the kitchen out of excitement.

"_That's great. On to some real stuff though, girlie," _Lauren broke in, effectively stopping Tiana in her happy dance, _"Don't you feel anything for Riku? Anything at all?"_

"What do you mean?" Tiana asked slowly, her heart starting to pick up its' pace as she coated the pan with cooking spray.

"_I mean, don't you like him as more than just a friend?...That was so painfully cliché, it hurt just to say it."_

Tiana gave a small, strained laugh as she bit her lip and began pouring the contents of the bowl into the pan, "Well…I don't know. I mean…he is nice-"

"_And hot."_

"And sweet-"

"_And hot."_

"And cool to hang out with. Doesn't really expect much and actually relaxes enough to laugh every now and then."

"_And don't forget hot."_

"Alright, Lauren!" Tiana snapped, heaving a heavy sigh as she took the pan and headed for the oven, sticking it on the middle rack before closing it and setting the timer, "He's hot…beyond hot! He's the most gorgeous boy at school. And sexy as all get out! But…"

"_But…"_ Lauren pushed, her best friend sighing.

"But he's just a friend. That's all he is to me and…that's all I am to him. You know that as well as I do," she finished, sounding defeated and even a little disappointed.

"_Hmmm, actually I may know a lot more than you think I do," _the other girl responded in an ominous voice that was filled with humor.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"_You'll see in time. Also, my gorgeous, curvy friend, you'll be surprised by the type of guys you actually attract. Just keep that in mind."_

Tiana blinked, "Uuuuhhh…"

Lauren giggled, _"Hehehe, like I said, you'll see in time. Anyway, I gotta run. Mom is calling me to help with dinner. Tell your Granda that I'm taking you out shopping tomorrow for our costumes so we're not doing it last minute, okay? Holla atch'ya later, girlie!"_

"Okay, later," Tiana bid to her best friend as the line went dead. She looked at the phone then sighed as she placed it back in its' cradle, placing her hand on her hip soon afterwards and tapping her fingers on the waistband of her jeans.

A few seconds of silence ensued and Tiana lost herself in thought. Subconsciously, her hand drifted to her stomach, which wasn't flat like the other girls and tended to turn into a muffin top in certain jeans. She looked down at her stomach and then at her wide hips and thick thighs, frowning in a moment of insecurity at how…unappealing she looked and wondering how Lauren could even imagine anyone as sexy as Riku liking someone as big as Tiana.

So…very…depressing. Thank God for loving grandmothers.

"Tiana, I want whatever negative thoughts you're thinking about yourself to come to a halt, right now!" Granda commanded firmly as she shuffled into the kitchen, startling the teenage girl out of her reverie with her stern eyes.

The young one tried to laugh it off, though it came out strained and nervous, "W-What are you talking about, Granda? I wasn't…thinking anything out of the ordinary."

"Tiana, baby, I know you and that look on your face right then told me everything you were thinking when I came in here. Heavens, you looked about ready to give up eating all together and go for a ten mile run!" the dark skinned woman shot back, a concerned expression on her own face for her dear and precious granddaughter.

Tiana's smile faded and was replaced with a slight look of contempt as she turned and leaned her body against the island in the kitchen, "Well, it wouldn't hurt me to lose a few pounds."

"Now you hush up, ya hear!" Granda ordered immediately after, moving to stand in front of her so she had her full attention, "It may not hurt for anyone to lose a few pounds, but don't you do because you think you're fat and ugly. You're not, do you understand me?"

Tiana remained quiet and Granda moved closer, cupping the young girl's cheeks in her soft, wrinkled hands and making her look up. The old woman smiled tenderly at her, her dark eyes filled with so much wisdom and kindness.

"Tiana, I want you to understand what it really means to be a woman," she started in a gentle voice, "It's not about being as skinny as a telephone pole or covering your face in make-up or selling your soul to the devil that runs the modeling industry."

Tiana laughed and so did Granda.

"It's about being strong and confident in who you are; about being soft and feminine as women were made to be; it's about accepting yourself and loving yourself the way God made you and letting your inner beauty define your outer beauty. Tiana, real women are strong and soft and feminine and kind and gentle and confident. Real women can love and beloved. Real women…have curves and a real man will love yours."

With that, Granda leaned up and kissed Tiana's forehead, her granddaughter smiling a watery smile as she caught a tear on her finger and wiped it away. The teenager sniffed and nodded her head, trying to keep herself from breaking down in tears.

"Thanks, Granda…I needed that," she whispered, giggling as the old woman laughed and helped her wipe the tears from her cheeks.

And she really was grateful.

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><p><strong>End Chapter<strong>

**Crimsonwings92: **I liked that ending! No matter how strong a girl is, they always have their insecure days and I'm not just talking about the ones that are bigger in size. All girls have their insecure days and I believe that every girl needs someone like Granda to tell them that they're beautiful, no matter what. This is more or less a message to all my ladies out there: you're beautiful and wonderful and amazing and sexy in your own ways and don't ever let anyone ever tell you anything different. Until next time, my friends. Ciao!


	9. Chapter 9: Lauren's Turn

**Crimsonwings92: **Hello my lovelies! Well…here I am with another chapter, but to tell you guys the truth, I'm a little discouraged. I guess I shouldn't be since I've taken so long to even get back to this story, but reviews would be nice to keep it going, you know? I appreciate those that give me their thoughts and it would make me super happy to hear from my readers! ^.^ Anyway, here's the next chapter and I hope you all enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **You know what's up.

**Food and Basketball**

**Chapter 9: Lauren's Turn**

* * *

><p><strong>Lauren's POV<strong>

This is actually…pretty hilarious.

"Sora, please, for the love of all that is small in the world, just go and ask her."

"I-I don't know Tiana. What if she says no?"

"What if the sky were orange and not blue? Doesn't matter! Just go and ask Kairi to the dance! Roxas already asked Namine and she said yes!"

"That has nothing to do with Kairi! Besides, it's already Friday! She probably already has a date and I would make a fool of myself!"

He's got a point there.

"Sora, listen to me," Tiana grabbed the brunette by the shoulders and looked him deeply in the eye, "Kairi doesn't have a date yet. She's waiting for you, kid! Just go and pop the question!"

"How do you know she doesn't have a date? Didn't you say that you don't hang out with her that much? That Lauren hangs out with her more?" Sora rebuttled, looking anxious as he fiddled with the strap from his backpack.

"That doesn't mean I don't pay attention! Sora, you-" Tiana cut herself off to breathe through her nose and I took a moment to control the urge I had to laugh loudly at the whole scenario, "Look, Sora, I'm telling you this as a friend to a friend: Kairi doesn't have a date to the Homecoming dance so you're all clear to ask her."

Sora peered into Tiana's pretty reddish-brown eyes, fidgeting under her gaze and averting her eyes to the side, "…How do you _know _that, Tiana?"

"BECAUSE SHE TOLD ME, YOU IDIOT! Her exact words were: I've said no to everyone else because I'm hoping that Sora will ask me to the dance!"

Woah, crazy Tia on the loose! And it's only 11:14! That's just wonderful!

Tiana had grabbed Sora by the front of his shirt and jerked him around with the excitement of her words, worrying me a little that she would snap his neck if she yanked him just a tad bit harder. The brunette male looked frightened, as he should look, but he also looked surprised and very curious.

"Wait! She…She told you?" he asked quietly, looking around to see if anyone else was paying attention to the scene.

"Ain't that what I just said!" my fiery best friend responded sarcastically, all but shoving Sora away as she cocked her hip to the side and placed her hand on her waist, "I swear on the graves of my ancestors that Kairi is waiting for you to ask her to the dance! Right now! Last minute and all!"

Sora looked like he was getting pretty excited, that big goofy grin starting to spread to his face and his blue eyes shining all the brighter; "Really? She's waiting for me to ask?" he whispered excitedly.

Tiana rolled her eyes, "Yes, man, she's waiting for you." Then, she grabbed Sora by the front of his shirt again and slammed him against the lockers, her eyes narrowed threateningly as she uttered darkly, "And I swear on the graves of _your _ancestors that if you tell Kairi that I told you she was waiting for you, I will turn 'Sora' into 'Sarah', got it?"

If the boy is smart, he'll just nod and be on his merry way. Thankfully he is smart and Tiana released him soon after she got confirmation. Our bubbly brunette friend quickly straightened himself out, fixed his backpack, gave us his signature grin, and waved farewell.

"Well, I'll see you girls later! I have a beautiful redhead to find!" he proclaimed as he ran down the hallway in search of our good friend Kairi Woolson, skidding around the corner and disappearing from sight.

Once he was gone, my best friend sighed deeply and leaned against the locker, closing her eyes for a minute while I moved to stand next to her, a humorous grin on my face. I waited until she noticed me staring at her, which didn't take too long since I was staring at her pretty hard. She opened her eyes again and turned her gaze towards me, blinking twice.

"What?" she inquired curiously, lifting head to turn it towards me.

I giggled and shook my own head, my now short, black hair moving with me, "Having a bad morning, are we?"

Tiana just clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, "No, not really a bad morning. Just kind of irritable, but it's been building up the entire week. Sora just kept nagging me and nagging me to tell him about Kairi until I finally broke. It was either tell him what he wants to know or kill him and I was leaning far too much towards killing him."

I laughed loudly at her explanation, Tiana always able to have that effect on me because some of the things she says can just really hit a funny bone. Not too long after I started laughing, I felt someone's hot breath on my ear followed by a low chuckle.

"Well, if that isn't the cutest laugh I ever did hear," the voice said playfully and lowly, making me shiver from the sound.

Turning around, I felt a blush rush to my cheeks when I saw the blond haired musician I've come to really, _really _like and, if I'm as good at picking up subtle hints as I think I am, he really likes me, too. However, I'm not going to make a fool of myself and assume anything just yet, even though it has been a few weeks since our playful flirting started becoming more noticeable…to everyone. Demyx looked damn sexy in a white, long sleeved shirt, black jeans, and a pair of white kicks with a shark-tooth necklace hanging around his throat. I was captivated by those crystal clear baby blue eyes of his and felt the butterflies start fluttering in my stomach when he grinned at me.

"Hey there, Handsome," I greeted him, giggling breathlessly as I jabbed him playfully in his stomach.

He chuckled in return and rubbed the area I had assaulted, "What's up, Gorgeous?"

"Gag me," I heard Tiana mutter behind me, the image of her face all screwed up in a look of disgust flashing through my head.

"You all ready for the fair, tonight? You and Tiana went shopping for your costumes on Tuesday, right?" Demyx continued, completely oblivious to my best friend.

"Sure did and we're all set to go! I just hope you'll be able to handle our swag," I teased with a grin.

"With a spoon," Tiana added to her previous statement in a harsh whisper, making me believe she had no intention of trying to keep me from hearing her, "Preferably a rusty spoon with sharp edges."

In annoyance, and in an attempt to keep her from embarrassing me, I turned around and jabbed her in her boob firmly, "Shut up!"

She let out a cry and put her hand over her chest to protect herself while turning her back towards me, effectively running in to Riku as soon as she did. Riku, looking mighty fine in a pair of dark blue jeans, a dark green shirt, a black windbreaker, black shoes and his signature dog tags, blinked curiously as Tiana wedged herself between him and the locker, laughing breathlessly and still holding on to her breasts. Riku scratched the back of his head, looking between me and my best friend.

"Uh…what happened? What's going on?" he asked with a chuckle, his hands on her shoulders as he held her just an inch or two away from him to look at her face.

He was clearly amused, as were Demyx and I, by Tiana's antics, my giggling childhood friend rolling her head back as she groaned and laughed all at the same time. Her head rolled forward again and thumped against Riku's chest, my attention fully on the two now when the faintest of blushes dusted over the boy's cheeks.

"Lauren punched me in the boob! It hurts!" Tiana whined as she popped her head back and then let it fall forward again, hiding her face from view as her curls fell in a curtain around her head.

"Oh…well…that sucks," Riku replied uncomfortably, the blush doubling now since we were talking about a rather…private subject, "Um…is it okay?"

"Breast cancer!" she shouted, spinning around and pointing her finger at me, "Because of you, I'm going to lose a boob and be off balance for the rest of my life!"

"Now that's a bit extreme," Riku put in quietly behind her.

I ignored it and countered with, "Yeah, that's assuming you don't die first."

"…How are we best friends again?"

"Because even though I kill you with breast cancer, you still love me," I replied with a cheeky grin, patting her on the back chummily.

Tiana narrowed her eyes, "Oh yeah, now I remember."

I laughed and pretty soon, Tiana was joining me as were the two boys with us. Almost as soon as the laughter died down, Tiana let out a cry and swung her bag from her shoulder, opening it up and digging around inside of it.

"I almost forgot!" she announced, pulling out a plastic container and opening the top to show us her famous frosted double fudge brownies, "I made a bit too much a few days ago and didn't want them to go to waste so I thought I'd bring them here and give them out."

"Sweet sassabrass! I love you, girlie!" I cried, immediately reaching in and extracting two brownies…what? They taste awesome!

I knew Riku had tasted Tiana's baking before, so he actually had something to look forward to and it showed as he took a brownie with bright eyes and all but inhaled it, but Demyx had never been graced with the desserts fit for the gods! Turning towards him, I nudged his arm and inclined my head towards the container.

"Try one, you'll like it. I promise," I encouraged him with a smile.

With a nervous half smile, Tiana held the container out to him; she was always a little anxious when it came to new people trying her food because she was always afraid that they would totally detest it. From the time I spent with him, though, I've learned that Demyx isn't one to make a big deal out of something he doesn't like, especially if it hurts a friend in the process. So, with a kind smile, he took a brownie out of the container and gingerly bit in to it, the three of us watching for that 'Oh my god, I just tasted a bit of heaven!' look that was bound to shoot across his face any moment now and in preparation, I whipped out my phone to get it all on video.

Wait for it…THERE!

It was the funniest thing. As soon as Demyx took a bite of the brownie and chewed it thoughtfully for no more than maybe two seconds, his eyes grew as wide as saucers, they obtained a glaze over them and his mouth hung open after he swallowed what he had in his mouth. He stared at the brownie for like a minute while I nearly doubled over laughing, Tiana and Riku chuckling to themselves at Demyx's expression.

"Oh my god…you made this?" he asked my best friend, who merely nodded her head, "…How do you not have your own cooking show by now?"

"Because the audience wouldn't be able to handle all of what I got," she replied with a flirtatious grin, running her hands down her curves in a playfully seductive manner. That girl has more power over the male species than she's giving herself credit for because Riku is practically drooling at this point…and, of course, Tiana doesn't see any of this happening. Completely oblivious, that one.

"Uh…A-Anyway," Riku stumbled, shaking his head and blushing deeply as he pulled his eyes away from my best friend's curves, "Why don't we head to lunch now? You know, before the cafeteria gets too full and we have to start fighting people for a table."

"Sounds like a plan to me and I can let the others have the rest of the brownies," she agreed, putting the cover back over the container only to have it quickly snatched from her hands.

"That won't be necessary!" Demyx exclaimed as he cradled the container of brownies protectively against him, "I'll just…finish them…for you."

Tiana blinked and looked from side to side, bewildered, "Um…okay? Sure?"

"Cool! Thanks, Tiana!" my not-so-secret crush said around a mouthful of brownie as he began chowing them down happily.

I wonder if he's one of those guys that tend to go on sugar highs…cuz that would be so adorable! And destructive…wow, why am I so weird? Despite his over enthusiasm, my best friend merely laughed and nodded as we all made our way down the hall towards the cafeteria, the four of us naturally pairing off with Riku and Tiana up front and me and Demyx bringing up the rear. I stuck my hand out in front of the blond to slow him down as I watched my best friend and the guy she's bound to end up with. My companion slowed down like I wanted him to and I could feel his eyes on my curiously.

"What's up?" he asked me quietly.

I simply grinned and looked at him, inclining my head towards the couple ahead of us, "How long do you think before they actually start dating?"

Demyx looked at Tiana and Riku thoughtfully for a moment before he grinned and took a bite of another brownie, "Definitely before the end of the year."

"I give it until the Christmas season," I added, watching with interest as Tiana complained about the tag on the back of her shirt bothering her, reaching behind her into the top of her shirt to adjust it. Riku immediately moved behind her, asked if it was okay to rip it out, then proceeded to yank the offending tag off of her shirt. Once done, he fixed the back of her shirt and then draped her hair back into place, an action that was unwarranted, but sweet nonetheless and I could totally tell he only did it so he could touch her more than was necessary.

"What do you think about them being together?" I asked Demyx as we rounded the corner, the both of us completely lost to Tiana and Riku who were engaged in their own conversation with one another.

"I think it'll be nice to see," the blond responded with a grin, "and I'm not just saying that because I'm tired of those two dancing around their feelings that they claim not to have, but Riku and Tiana actually seem to really click with one other. They're not trying too hard to impress each other; Tiana is just Tiana and Riku is just Riku and they're both comfortable together. That's how I think real relationships should be, anyway, especially the beautiful ones. Both people are just themselves and feel comfortable around the other without having to put some kind of front."

If I didn't like Demyx before, I'm totally in love with him now! Especially since he's looking at me with those big, beautiful blue eyes of his with a warm gaze, as if he's trying to hint at something to me! But again, I don't want to assume anything if it's going to make a fool out of me. I smiled at him and moved closer, noting him doing the same as we continued walking. We rounded one more corner just in time to hear someone shouting.

"Yes! Yes, of course I'll go to the dance with you!"

We witnessed Kairi jumping up and down excitedly with the brightest smile on her face as she lunged at Sora, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him tightly. The brunette stumbled a little, but caught himself before he fell and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Oh Jesus, he finally asked her. Thank God," Tiana muttered.

Sora saw us standing just down the hall and grinned that signature grin of his while giving us the 'okay' sign. We all waved while Tiana gave him a thumbs up with a sarcastic smile before she rolled her eyes and whipped around to make her way to the cafeteria, the three of us in tow.

"I like Sora, I really do," she started off with a sigh, turning her body slightly to face all of us and taking slow, languid steps, "but sometimes…that kid can be really dense, hahaha!"

Riku smiled in amusement, nudging her with his elbow, "So anyway, what are you girls going to dress up as for the fair? I'm going to be the Mad Hatter from the ORIGINAL Alice in Wonderland and Demyx is going as Aquaman."

"Does that have anything to do with your love with all things aquatic?" I asked my blond acquaintance curiously, receiving a shrug as my answer while Tiana went to answer Riku's question.

"Well, I'm going to be-"

"It's a surprise!" I cut her off, slapping my hand over her mouth before she could say another word.

Riku raised a silver eyebrow at me, tilting his head to the side which caused his silver locks to graze over his porcelain cheeks and fall into his hypnotizing blue-green eyes. God! I know I'm totally into Demyx, but does Riku know how effing hot he is? I mean, seriously! The guy's like a walking, breathing Adonis! No wonder why girls lose their panties when he's around.

"Oh really? A surprise?" he repeated, his eyes flicking from me to Tiana whose mouth I was still covering.

I nodded with a large, innocent smile on my face, moving my hand to make my best friend nod as well, "Yup, a surprise. Don't want to ruin the effect our costumes are bound to have on you guys."

"Riiiight. Gotchya."

I giggled then let out a squeal as I removed my hand from Tiana's mouth, "Ew! Tiana, you licked my hand! That's gross!"

She just giggled as she licked her lips and cocked her head to the side with a dramatic flip of her hair, "Yup, I sho did! Do something!"

"Oh, I will," I growled, preparing to launch at her when Demyx stepped in, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me back as Tiana ran to hide behind Riku, "You're so lucky Demyx saved your ass!"

"If Demyx hadn't saved me, I'm sure Riku would have, right buddy?" she retorted, looking up at the male whose eyes widened at being put on the spot.

He smiled at me as I glowered at him through the short, loose strands of hair that fell into my face, "How about we just head to lunch now?"

With that, he turned Tiana around and led her to the cafeteria by her shoulders; I was actually a little surprised to see my best friend actually letting him hold her by her shoulders like that. Left alone again, Demyx and I turned to each other and laughed together.

"So…a surprise, huh?" he asked me with a wiggle of his eyebrows, looking kind of mischievous.

I smiled secretly and crossed my arms, "Yes, a surprise and I won't tell. Not even to you. Besides, I want to see Riku's jaw drop when he sees what Tiana's going as for the first time. That'll definitely be a Kodak moment, haha."

"Can I at least have a hint?"

"For who? Me or Tiana?"

"Oh Lauren," he started with a deep chuckle, moving so close to me that I found myself backing up into the lockers, my eyes widening in surprise, "While I like Tiana and find her to be a nice girl, you and I both know who I'm anxious to see all…dressed up."

"O-O-Oh…uuuuhhhh…" I stammered nervously, unable to think clearly when Demyx was standing so close that I could feel his warm breath on my cheeks and see the lighter streaks of blue reflected in his deep, warm eyes. And was it me or did his lips _just _ghost over mine?

After a minute or so of hyperventilating, I noticed Demyx grinning and moving away from me, allowing me room to breathe in the precious oxygen I was robbed of when he decided to get close and personal without warning. As I was gulping in lungfulls of air, I felt his warm hand on my cheek, his thumb lightly smoothing over the skin near my nose and that caused me to snap my head up to lock eyes with him.

"Sorry about that, Lauren; didn't mean to freak you out. Although it is super cute when you get all flustered like that," he teased before removing his hand and taking a couple steps in the direction of the cafeteria, "Come on, let's go join the others. I don't think you want them assuming anything scandalous about us, hehe."

I blinked once or twice into space, still a little startled by…whatever it was that just happened between us before I snapped myself out of my own stupor and smiled bashfully, strolling next to Demyx and falling into step with him as we entered the cafeteria together. Lunch passed as eventfully as it ever does with our crazy group of friends, an exceptionally happier Kairi now gushing over the colors she and Sora were going to wear to the dance. I could practically feel the relief flooding from person to person that Sora finally asked Kairi to the dance and the intense period of a stressed and strung-out Kairi making everyone uncomfortable was finally over. How Sora was able to sit at the same table with her and not notice any of that intensity is beyond me. Unlike lunch time, the rest of my classes went by as uneventfully as ever, straight to the point where I felt like running my head into the wall just to get an excuse to spend the rest of the day in the nurse's office. However, I refrained myself from taking such an action and just braved out the rest of the day. Finally- because it couldn't come fast enough!- the end of the school day arrived and I all but zoomed out of my last class, nearly knocking over a few of my fellow students in the process. I was completely psyched for the fair that night and wanted to get to Tiana's house as quickly as possible to start the fun process of getting us both ready.

"Hey! Tiana!" I called to my best friend who was walking ahead of me to her own locker; I had already been to mine and dispensed all of my books into the metal holding.

She turned to me, those pretty mahogany colored eyes of hers lighting up with her smile; "Hey, Lauren," she greeted me as I fell into step with her, "I can tell you're excited for tonight."

"Are you kidding me? Excited? I'm stoked! It's been a whole year since we've seen Jack Skellington and I can't wait to see him again," I replied with a smile of my own.

"Have you ever wondered how he can be that thin and still be alive?"

I shrugged, "I don't really question it. As long as he stays cool, he's alright in my book."

Tiana made a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat as we stopped at her locker. She put her books away before we headed out the front doors and towards the parking lot where my beautiful SUV was waiting for us; I love that car, even if it is a gas guzzler. To add to the greatness of my car were two hot as all hell boys, Demyx and Riku leaning against the grill of my vehicle as they waited for us. Peeking over at Tiana, I saw her bite her bottom lip and smile to herself while a light dusting of pink just colored her cheeks. I find it hilarious that she won't admit to having any sort of feelings whatsoever for the silverheaded basketball star even though the physical evidence was clear, it might as well be transparent.

"And what the hell do you two think you're doing leaning up against my car like that?" I yelled with my arms out, acting mad, "Ya'll better not have scratched the paint or someone's gonna pay for a new paint job."

Tiana rolled her eyes loudly and said to the two confused boys that had stood up and took a step away from my car, "Don't worry, guys, she ain't bein' serious. She's just trying to be funny."

I grinned and nodded, "Yup! Gotya good, though, huh?"

I heard Demyx laugh as he moved to stand next to me, Riku taking his proper place next to Tiana like he's been doing ever since that day at the Plaza where I left them alone. All part of my secret plan, you know? Insert evil laugh here. I watched the two interact with each other again, hiding a smile to myself at how natural they looked with each other, how easily they fell into conversation with one another and how much they denied liking each other.

"It'll happen," Demyx said lowly to me, making me shiver from the warm breath that ghosted over my ear.

I knew what he was referring to and nodded with a secretive grin, "Yeah, I know."

"So, we're picking you girls up at Tiana's house, right? Around 7:30?"

"Yup. I'll text you the directions before you leave your house."

He smiled and bobbed his head in acknowledgement, "Great…I can't wait for tonight. It'll be fun…"

"Yeah…I can't wait either." I couldn't help the grin that was spreading to my face, the action faltering when he Demyx took my hand in his.

"Until tonight, then, milady," he teased with a laugh, brushing his lips over the back of my hand softly while staring into my eyes.

My mouth gaped open at his bold move, but I recovered as quickly as I could and giggled breathlessly, "Yeah. See ya."

He was still smiling as I made my way over to the driver's side of the car, hopping inside and moving to close my door when Demyx beat me to it, carefully shutting it behind me. I gave him a shy smile and was vaguely aware of Tiana getting in the car soon afterwards, my world too consumed by the beautiful golden boy at my window, bidding me goodbye with another kiss to my hand. He waved and was just about to turn and leave with Riku when he suddenly stopped, took a moment to think, then whipped back around. He stood at my window again, his eyes dark with an emotion I couldn't quite place my finger on, but it made me shiver nonetheless.

"Lauren?" he started in a trembling voice, his eyes never leaving mine.

I swallowed and stared back at him, "Yeah, Demyx?"

He continued to stare at me for all of three or four more seconds before his hands were cupping my cheeks and his lips were kissing mine. I froze and barely heard the gasp that came from the right of me, my world now completely overtaken by the boy who was feverishly molding his lips to mine, holding my head steady and nipping at my bottom lip. I closed my eyes, the only thing I could clearly think to do, and groaned into the kiss, reciprocating it with just as much excitement. Looks like I didn't need to wait until tonight after all. When air became a bit of a problem- well, the lack thereof- Demyx finally pulled back, though it was just far enough to look me in the eye while he spoke, his lips still brushing over mine.

"I've wanted to do that for a while," he admitted, his cheeks red and his eyes glazed over.

My answer was to simply kiss him again; now that I've had a taste of that delicious sweetness, I'm pretty sure I'm hooked. I could feel him smile against my lips, his fingers caressing my cheeks and the smell of his cologne wafting into my nostrils. God, he smelled amazing. We parted again and I could see him smiling fully now, that same smile spreading across my own face as I gulped down lungfulls of air.

"So does that mean you want me as much as I want you?" he asked playfully; I know he knew the answer already.

"You belong to no one else, but me," I answered, brushing stray strands of his blond hair out of his face.

Demyx nodded and pecked my lips one last time before stepping away from the car, "I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll pick you girls up at 7:30 tonight."

"Kay."

He nodded once more as he backed up towards the sidewalk, waving at me with this big, silly grin on his face that I'm sure matched mine. I returned the gesture and started up the car, backing out of my parking space and, after a longing look at my new boyfriend, took off towards the main road, very aware of Demyx watching me go while Riku tried to get him to start walking again. I felt breathless after that unexpected kiss, but I was grinning like mad, I'm sure. Tiana was exceptionally quiet in the seat next to me, but I could practically feel the devilish grin she had on her face directed towards me. I wasn't too worried about it.

**End Chapter**

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><p><strong>Crimsonwings92: <strong>Hehehe, this was fun! I've been trying to find a way to get Lauren's perspective in here and out of the blue, this happened! Please tell me what you guys think; review, review, review! And if you do, you get the next chapter, hahaha! Until next time, my friends. Ciao!


	10. Chapter 10: Halloween Town Fair

**Crimsonwings92: **Hello all! I'm back with Chapter 10 and I have to tell you, it was fun writing this one. I want to thank **Sarah**** K.R** and **XXTakaraXX**, for their reviews of the last chapter. I would still like to see more reviews, but I'm extremely grateful for the readers that I do have and that are willing to go through the trouble of sending me their thoughts and support. You guys are the best! And it's thanks to **Sarah K.R** that I remembered this story is about Riku and Tiana and not about every other couple, so I had to do some re-writing and actually focus the story back on them; thanks for that friend! Also, just letting everyone know that there are only two more chapters of this story before it ends, but I promise that there will be a sequel focused in the summer time. So look forward to it! ^.^ Anyway, I'm done rambling. Enjoy the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: **Ya'll know what's up!

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><p><strong>Food and Basketball<strong>

**Chapter 10: Halloween Town Fair**

**Friday Night: No One's POV**

"…and then it's the next right up here near the tree. The one that looks like it belongs in the Mesozoic Era."

"Dude, you have directions to Tiana's house memorized like you're final grade counts on it!"

The silverheaded teen simply shrugged at the jab that was administered to him by a playful blond male, Demyx laughing at his companion and shoving him lightly in the shoulder.

"I'm just kiddin' with you, Riku."

"I know that! I'm not crying about it!"

Again, Demyx laughed as he made the necessary turn in his black Ford Explorer, "So, you excited to go to this fair? I've never gone myself, but from the way the girls talk about it, it's supposed to be the greatest thing on Earth next to Disneyland."

Casting a glance toward the blond, Riku smirked and placed his chin in his gloved hand, adjusting the top hat with the playing card in the rim on his head, "Yeah, I guess you can say I'm excited. Tiana had nothing but wonderful things to say about it and she got so hyper, too. I never really see her like that…it was cute, so it must be a pretty cool place."

Demyx was quiet as he regarded Riku out of the corner of his eye, smiling knowingly to himself when he saw the gentle upwards tug of his lips on the other boy's lips. Ever since Riku started spending a lot more time with the ebony skinned girl, he's been going through a few changes. He smiled more than he smirked now and he was showing up to school earlier, most likely to catch Tiana with enough time before class to hang out with her more. His eyes are gentler when he sees her and he seems very protective of her, keeping close to her whenever she's around and frequently jumping to her aid when it looks like she's being made the butt of someone's joke. The transformation was interesting to watch and the blond had to laugh to himself at that. Riku heard him and turned a curious gaze to his cohort.

"What's funny?" he asked.

The driver just shook his head with a humorous grin still on his face, "Nothing…Nothing at all."

The passenger was still perplexed, but let it go and settled for staring out the side window as they drove in a comfortable silence to Tiana's house. The homey abode soon came into view and after Riku told Demyx which house it was before he missed it, the blond spoke again.

"Alright, so Lauren says we're meeting Tiana's grandmother," he stated as he pulled into the driveway beside Lauren's SUV and cut the engine, staring up at the house, "Nice place…so anyway, let's try to make a good impression."

"Oh sure, what teens dressed as Aquaman and the Mad Hatter never make a good impression?" Riku dead-panned, narrowing his teal colored eyes at his friend.

Demyx just rolled his eyes and opened the door, "Just turn on the charm, dude."

"Roger that."

The two males exited the car and strode up to the front door, both taking a moment to make sure everything was in order and nothing was sticking out before Demyx rang the doorbell. It took a moment, but then the door was opened to them and standing in the doorway was a kind looking old woman with skin darker than Tiana's, silver-gray hair tied up in a bun, and warm dark eyes. Granda smiled at the two boys and nodded her head.

"You two must be Demyx and Riku, correct?" she questioned, looking between them.

Demyx smiled pleasantly and nodded his head in return, "Yes, ma'am. That would be us. We're here to pick up Lauren and Tiana."

"They'll be done in a few minutes, they're still getting dressed. Well, come on in, boys, and have a little sit down," she ushered them into her house and closed the door behind them.

From there, and for the next 20 minutes, Demyx and Riku found themselves in the company of a wonderfully kind and warm elderly woman with the sweetest of smiles and a caring disposition. It was a tad odd, but they found it rather easy to talk to Jodi Sellers, Tiana's grandmother on her father's side, and were laughing and conversing with her as if they knew her for much longer than 20 minutes. There was definitely a certain warmth that Riku felt in the home, a sense of security and love falling over him like a blanket as he sat there on one of the couches in the living room. He felt like he could relax inside that home and truly be himself and with that thought, he came to the realization that this was exactly how Tiana made him feel; no wonder why she was so relaxed and easy going, she learned it from this very home. The silverheaded teen couldn't help the smile that spread to his face, his heart filling up when he thought of the full-figured girl growing up here and becoming the person she is now. The person that he-

"Ready!" the trio suddenly heard from upstairs, Lauren coming down first and dressed in a white, form fitting Egyptian dress with a gold belt, gold bracelets, a gold necklace with a fake emerald in the middle, and a gold snake crown on top of her short hair.

Granda, Demyx, and Riku all got to their feet and walked over to the entrance of the living room as Lauren entered, all three smiling as the girl did a little twirl to show off her costume. Demyx's smile was much wider as he looked her up and down, that smile turning into an impish grin.

"My, my, do I find myself in the presence of the lovely Cleopatra?" he asked jokingly.

Lauren set her hands on her hips and held her head high like a true queen, her kohl-rimmed dark brown eyes narrowing suggestively, "Why yes, you do and you should feel honored, oh handsome Aquaman, hehehe."

"I am more than just honored, dear queen. I am humbled," the blond retorted as he took her hand and kissed it, chuckling lowly before pulling the little woman towards him and grazing her lips gently with his.

Lauren giggled before submitting to the kiss, Riku rolling his eyes and nodding his head at her outfit when they parted, "That's a cool outfit, Lauren. Good choice; it's like you were made to be queen."

"Okay, now you're just making fun of me," the short-haired girl giggled, shoving Riku in his stomach which only made the boy laugh, "Nice costume by the way. You're definitely rockin' the Mad Hatter look…and now that I think about it, you'll kind of match to Tiana."

"Thanks. You're opinion means a lot to me."

"Sarcasm, gotta love it."

"Where is Tiana, anyway?"

Before Lauren and Riku could engage in their silly bantering that they occasionally get in to, the girl stopped at Demyx's question and looked around thoughtfully, as if just realizing that Tiana wasn't with them. Then, with a small smirk, she laughed and whipped around towards the stairs.

"She's just chickening out. Hold on," she said, going to the foot of the stairs and looking up to the top, "Tiana! Come on, get down here! Show everyone your costume!"

Silence for a minute, then slight rustling followed by the girl's voice saying, "I don't know about this, Lauren."

"What are you talking about? It's a great costume!" the other girl encouraged, beaming widely at her best friend.

"I feel naked!" Riku's eyes grew wide at the statement and his curiosity was piqued.

"But you're not, Tiana!" Lauren assured her, going halfway up the stairs and stopping to hold her hand out to her companion, "Come on, they'll love it! You look great, I promise! It's a classy yet sexy look and you definitely give it swag!"

Footsteps were heard coming down the stairs and a dark hand was placed into Lauren's as she escorted Tiana down the rest of the way. Once she was in plain view, it took every ounce of willpower that Riku had not to let his jaw hit the floor in astonishment. Tiana was going as a magician, but not one that wears long robes. No, this kind of magician was definitely female and looked like one you would find in Las Vegas what with the black panties instead of the black slacks and a long purple tuxedo jacket with tails buttoned in the middle and a light purple cloth belt around the waist. The white button up shirt underneath was visible and accentuated by the black bow tie. To complete the look was a pair of black fishnet stockings, black ankle boots, and a cute little black and purple top hat pinned into her curly hair. She wore make-up, but it blended in so well with her skin, that you really wouldn't have been able to tell had it not been for the black eyeliner and the dark eye shadow that brought out the color of her beautiful eyes. God, there were so many words Riku could have used to describe how amazing Tiana looked in that costume, but only one word kept popping up continuously: sexy. Tiana looked unbelievably and undoubtedly sexy in her costume and she wasn't even showing that much skin! A lot of leg, but not a lot of skin. The outfit outlined all of her curves in the most tantalizing of ways that the silverheaded teen found it increasingly hard not to stare from her head to her toes. His thoughts of Tiana knowingly teasing him in that costume were cut short by Lauren's excited squeal.

"Doesn't she look absolutely adorable?"

"Definitely! Tiana that costume was made for you. It looks awesome!" their blond friend agreed, the boy impressed with how well she wore it.

Granda nodded her head and shuffled over to her granddaughter, patting her on the shoulder, "This is a really cute costume, Tiana. I like it."

The girl in question smiled shyly and giggled, twirling one of her curls around her finger nervously, "Thanks you guys. I feel a little out of my element, but…I like it."

Lauren tittered and glided over to her buddy with her hand on her shoulder, sharing a smile with her, "It's a great costume. Wouldn't you agree, Riku?"

All eyes were on him now and if Riku were in a clearer state of mind, he would have noticed the impish undertone to her question that was obviously pointing at something and trying to lead it somewhere. However, he was currently trying to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth and force the gears in his brain to stop jamming so he could form a coherent sentence. A slap to his back from Demyx was enough to jeer him from his frozen state.

"A magician, huh? I don't know why I didn't guess that myself. Only a magician would have magical hands like yours to make the kind of desserts that you make," Riku answered, forcing a teasing laugh as he moved closer to her and ruffled her hair.

Tiana gave an indignant cry and swatted his hand away, "Hey, watch the hat! It's pinned to my scalp, you know."

Granda laughed quietly to herself as the four teens joked and conversed with one another about their costumes and all the fun they were going to have at the fair, the old woman ambling over to the table near the door to grab the digital camera Tiana had bought for her two Christmases ago.

"Alright, kids, move in closer. I want to take a picture of you all before you go," she instructed, turning on the camera.

Doing as they were told, everyone moved into position next to each other, Tiana and Lauren in the middle with Riku and Demyx on the outside, looming over the girls. More laughs ensued as the four made goofy faces and took silly stances for each picture, pulling a few chuckles from Granda before she forced them all to take at least one good, decent picture of them just smiling.

"Okay, one…two…three," she counted down, a flash going off, "There. This one is definitely going to be framed."

There was a smile on her face as she looked at the picture being displayed back to her, something interesting catching her eye. On the left where Riku and Tiana were standing together, she noted how Riku had his hand on Tiana's shoulder and her granddaughter leaned in more towards him than she did towards Lauren. Maybe she was looking too much in to the probably causes of why they were angled towards each other like that, but then again, she had been alive for many years and seen many a thing involving mutual attraction from one sex to the other. Deciding to keep her thoughts to herself for the time being, Granda merely set the camera down and waved to the teens as they made their way to the door.

"Good bye, you four. Be safe and have fun," she bid to them with a warm smile.

"Bye Granda, we'll be back late tonight so don't freak out if you hear the front door opening," Tiana called over her shoulder as the herd walked outside and towards Demyx's car.

"Okay, baby. Have a good time!" Granda answered back, standing in the doorway and watching as Demyx helped Lauren into the front seat while Riku and Tiana took over the back. The blond started his car up and backed out of the driveway, disappearing down the street and leaving the old woman to close the door to her house and settle in for a night of peace.

&%&%&%&%&

The drive to the fair really wasn't that long, but to make the trip more entertaining, the car was filled with the chatter and laughter of the young adults excited for the night. The girls were excitedly filling the boys in on what to expect from the fair, talking a million miles a minute like almost every girl does and thoroughly amusing the males to no end. It wasn't until Lauren spotted the large, black and white tent just beyond the trees that she stopped talking for a second and pointed up ahead.

"There's the tent! We're almost there," she declared, hearing Tiana giggle in the backseat.

"I'm so ready for this night; I've been looking forward to it all year!" she laughed, leaning forward in her seat to look at the big tent herself, "The Halloween Town Fair is legit."

Riku laughed aloud himself and said, "Honestly, Tiana, I've never seen you this excited before. Is it really that great?"

"Is Sora in love with Kairi?"

"I thoroughly enjoy it when you answer my questions with a question," the boy retorted with narrowed eyes, flicking her little hat.

Tiana laughed and fixed her hat, shoving Riku's arm soon afterwards. The Mad Hatter look alike grabbed her hand and lightly pulled her arm towards him to reach out and tickle her sides, earning a shriek of protest from her followed by more tittering from the female. Lauren rolled her eyes at them and turned in her seat to face the back.

"Alright, you two, enough of your flirting. Don't want anyone getting hurt," she teased, earning an indignant gasp from her mahogany eyed friend.

"We are not flirting!" she retorted, sitting back in her seat to cross her arms and almost pout.

Lauren turned her head to regard the two in the back with a cagey smile, "One of you is." Her eyes landed on Riku pointedly and the boy was just able to hold her gaze for maybe a moment or two before he looked away with a guilty red blush across his cheeks; at least one of the two were being true to their feelings.

The ebony Cleopatra turned back to the front when she felt Demyx intertwine their fingers together, gazing at him with a sweet smile that he returned as he looked ahead of them, "We're here."

Turning the corner, the entrance to the Halloween Town Fair came into full view, a large, black wrought iron gate surrounding the grounds of the fair with the big tent looming high into the sky, seeming to almost be touching the moon. Demyx found a parking space outside the gate among the other many cars that were there and the troupe filed out of the car, a sense of excitement floating in the air. Tiana and Lauren, who were very used to the goings on of the fair, weren't very surprised by the strange people walking about, even if they were in costumes like everyone else. The boys, however, were left in awe of their surroundings; all around them were herds of family and friends dressed in their Halloween costumes and rushing towards the entrance to get into the fair. There were large torches all around them to illuminate the parking lot as well as headstones, gravesites and floating orbs of different colors that seemed to move of their own accord and not by any kind of technological fixings. At several points, they saw what looked to be ghosts rising up from the graves and floating over unsuspecting fair-goers, frightening them into an excited emotion.

"Jesus," Demyx breathed out as he looked around, already loving the feel of the place, "How could we not have known about the Halloween Town Fair before? This is amazing!"

"I know right? And we're not even inside yet!" Lauren agreed, beaming with pride.

Tiana turned to Riku, who had been unconsciously moving closer to her in his incredulous gaze, and nudged him in the ribs, giggling a little when he jumped just the slightest, "What do you think so far?"

Riku blinked at her and looked around again, "I…This place is just-"

"ARGH!"

"Aaaaahhhhhh!"

Riku never got to finish his sentence as an employee of the fair came up behind them wearing a most frightening mask and looking like a deranged killer and shouted at them while wielding a fake, bloodied butcher knife in his hand. At least, the silverheaded teen hoped it was fake. The four young adults took off running for the entrance with the blade wielding psycho hot on their heels, just barely able to lose them at the entrance and among the crowd. They were all in hysterics, laughing loudly and moving with the herd. Music was playing from the speakers set up at the gate and all through the grounds of the fair, giving precedence to something that was coming. The girls smiled excitedly for they knew that song; it was an introduction.

**Boys and girls of every age**

**Wouldn't you like to see something strange?**

**Come with us and you will see**

**This – our town of Halloween**

Walking through the gate, they were met with two lines of dancing employees on either side of them, the boys watching curiously and the girls grinning from ear to ear. Jack-O-Lanterns began hopping in front of them, getting close and then hopping away, spooking other patrons while the song continued.

**This is Halloween, this is Halloween**

**Pumpkins scream in the dead of night**

**This is Halloween, everybody make a scene**

**Trick or treat 'till the neighbors come and die of fright**

**In this town, everybody scream**

**In this town of Halloween**

**I am the one hiding under your bed**

**Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red**

**I am the one hiding under your stairs**

**Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair**

**This is Halloween, this is Halloween**

**Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween**

Tiana and Lauren were singing along happily, Demyx and Riku watching curiously as three men dressed as vampires approached them, taking their hands and spinning them around before releasing them back with the boys. They then spread their arms and took off into the sky, freaking out a good portion of the people in the crowd.

**In this town, we call home,**

**Everyone hail to the pumpkin song**

**In this town, don't we love it now?**

**Everybody's waiting for the next surprise**

Surprise! Someone dressed as a werewolf hopped out of a trashcan right next to them and the girls startled themselves, laughing at being caught off guards while witches took flight above them on their broomsticks.

**Round that corner then, hiding in the trash can**

**Something's waiting and it'll pounce**

**And how you'll scream!**

**This is Halloween; red and black; and slimy green**

**Aren't you scared?**

**Well, that's just fine!**

**Say it once, say it twice**

**Take a chance and roll the dice**

**Ride with the moon in the dead of night**

**Everybody scream, everybody scream**

**In our town of Halloween**

A clown on a unicycle approached them…a dead clown on a unicycle that looked anything but friendly. In fact, he looked down right menacing with a maniacal grin on his face and then he turned downright terrifying as he ripped his face off, like it was a mask, and revealed there to be nothing but emptiness behind it.

**I am the clown with the tear – away face**

**Here in a flash and gone without a trace**

**I am the 'who' in the call "who's there?"**

**I am the wind blowing through your hair**

**I am the shadow in the moon at night**

**Filling your dreams to the brim with fright**

**This is Halloween, this is Halloween,**

**Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween**

**Halloween, Halloween,**

Halfway through the song, with the girls singing along in perfect pitch and harmony, Demyx and Riku figured that they were well known at this fair, those suspicions confirmed when two tiny people- they weren't exactly sure if they were children or just midgets- waddled up to them. One was dressed as a fat dead kid and the other looked like a one-eyed mummy in dirty wrappings. They grabbed Tiana and Lauren's hands and walked with them, singing their part of the song while looking up at the two girls.

**Tender lumplings everywhere**

**Life's no fun without a good scare**

**That's our job, but we're not mean**

**In our town of Halloween**

**In this town, don't we love it now?**

**Everyone's waiting for the next surprise**

**Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back**

**And scream like a banshee**

**Make you jump out of your skin!**

Right in front of them, moving horizontally, came a procession of employees all dressed in their Halloween costumes, pulling a metal horse behind them while the rest of the performers danced and sang behind it. On top of the horse was a very skinny scarecrow with a jack-o-lantern head and to everyone's amazement, it started moving. It got up from the horse and began dancing haphazardly to the point where the pumpkin head caught on fire from one of the torches that was next to it.

**This is Halloween, and everybody scream**

**Won't you please make way for a very special guy?**

**Skeleton Jack is king of the pumpkin patch,**

**Everyone hail to the pumpkin king**

The procession continued until it came to the middle of the grounds where large, stone fountain stood with green, illuminated water was spouting.

**This is Halloween, this is Halloween**

**Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween**

The scarecrow man jumped into the water and seemed to disappear. The two children dragged Tiana and Lauren towards the edge of the fountain and all four peered inside while continuing the song. As they did, a frighteningly skinny man who looked like a skeleton for he had the head and hands of one began to rise from the water, dressed in a black, pin-striped suit with a…spider for a bow-tie.

**In this town, we call home**

**Everyone hails to the pumpkin song**

**Wheeeeeeeeee!**

The song came to a close and the man took a bow among the fading creepy giggles and laughter of the other performers, obviously the Skeleton Jack that the song was talking about. The crowd applauded the performance and the man beamed happily; Demyx and Riku didn't feel right about this guy because something seemed off. Not that the girls cared because as soon as the song was over, they gave the kid performers their hugs and the people began to disperse to enjoy the fair, they greeted Jack with the brightest of smiles.

"Jack! We're so happy to see you!" Tiana exclaimed, jumping a little on her toes.

"That was an awesome performance, Jack! The whole fountain thing was pretty cool!" Lauren put in as the two of them moved towards the man who literally loomed over them like a giant; he looked to be at least seven feet tall, give or take a few inches…and he actually looked like a skeleton! That's just creepy!

Nonetheless, Jack smiled his bony smile and bent down at the waist to gather the girls towards him in an affectionate hug, "Lauren. Tiana. My favorite little monsters! How I have missed you this past year!"

The two females in question giggled and returned the hug, although they were careful so as not to break him for he looked positively fragile. Jack turned his black eye sockets towards the two males behind the girls and his expression, if you can even call it that, turned curious.

"And who are these gentlemen?" he asked, standing straight again as the girls moved away a little.

Lauren was the first to answer as she skipped to Demyx's side with a happy grin on her face, blushing when she felt the blonde's arm encircle her waist possessively, "Jack, I want you to meet Demyx, my boyfriend. Demyx, this is Jack Skellington, a good friend of mine and Tiana's."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, young man," Jack greeted, bending down to be more or less eyelevel with the blond as he stuck his hand out to shake.

Although Demyx was a little creeped out by the man's skeleton hand, he was Lauren's friend and wanted to be nice to him for her sake so he shook Jack's hand. Besides, he just made himself adamantly believe that it was all just a costume and the man wasn't really a skeleton. Jack smiled and then turned his curious face towards Riku.

"And this is?"

Here, Tiana stepped in with a sweet smile, "This is Riku. He's my…friend."

Had Jack been a little less oblivious to subtle signs, he would have noticed the way Riku's eyes dimmed a little at only being introduced as Tiana's friend. Even though her declaration was true, he was just her friend, from that flash in his eyes one could easily see that he wanted to be much more than that. But Jack was oblivious and simply shook the silverette's hand without much thought to the slight tension between him and Tiana.

"It's a pleasure, Riku," he acquainted, soon giving his attention to Tiana again, "My dear Tiana, you get more and more lovely every time I see you. You and Lauren both."

The girls blushed and thanked him graciously, Tiana looking away bashfully as Lauren asked, "Hey, where's Sally? Is she here?"

"She's helping Doctor Finklestein at the Ghostly Figures ride. Apparently, one of the ghosts is more comical than frightening and they're trying to fix it. She would be happy to see you two," Jack answered, checking his watch on his wrist and gasping quietly, "I'm afraid I must be off now, girls, but I will see you around the fair. You will stay for the fireworks, won't you?"

"Of course! Wouldn't miss it!"

"Splendid! Bye for now," he waved before he walked away, his steps slow but long and soon, he was lost in the crowd as he turned the corner.

"Awww, Jack is so cool," Lauren gushed with chipper smile, placing one of her hands on her waist, "I'm so glad he's over that blending Christmas with Halloween idea."

"Oh, I know right? That was a disaster! It was more terrifying than it needed to be," Tiana agreed, looking a little disturbed, "I remember having to do damage control for a lot of the little kids and explain to them that Santa was not working for the devil and out to claim their souls to drag to hell. Jack did some serious scarring that night."

"Was it really that bad?" Demyx asked curiously, blinking his big, blue eyes with the innocence of a child.

"That bad? The city almost didn't let him come back last year because of that fiasco! There are still kids that have nightmares," Lauren replied with a shrug before she spotted a game booth that immediately had her squealing and jumping around like an excited child, "Aaahhh! Whack-a-Lantern! I love that game! Come on!"

The blond boy let out a laugh as his new girlfriend latched on to his arm and dragged him over to the booth, leaving Tiana and Riku near the fountain. Said girl watched the silverheaded teen look around in amazement before she tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. His teal eyes met her gaze, the shine from the moon making them glow irresistibly, and she found herself smiling while almost drowning in the breathtaking color.

"You okay?" she inquired, tilting her head to the side.

She was met with a smile and a nod, all of which she responded to with a grin as she tapped the brim of his hat; "Then come on, let's check this place out!" she encouraged, grabbing his wrist and pulling him over to where Demyx and Lauren were.

As they were walking, she felt Riku shift until his hand was securely locked around hers. Her heartbeat quickened and she could've untangled their hands if she wanted to, but she found herself enjoying it and even if it was just a friendly gesture not meant to mean anything, she let herself think for a minute that Riku wanted it to mean more than that because honestly, she herself wanted it to mean more too. The rest of the night was filled with fun and games and amazing rides, the boys finding that they were enjoying themselves far more than they probably would have at the dance. They all played a variety of games and won various prizes for each other- Demyx won a black and white Skelanimal doll for Lauren and she won a giant green snake for him while Riku won a giant stuffed purple voodoo doll for Tiana and she won a large stuffed bat head for him. At one point, just to tease her a little, Demyx challenged Tiana to a basketball shootout game that actually used rubber zombie heads instead of actual basketballs; Tiana won and the trio could only laugh as Demyx all but pouted. In return, Riku challenged Lauren to a game of Zombie Brains where you shot water into the mouth of the zombie and a balloon that looked like its' brains was filled with the water. The first one to blow the balloon up won; Riku was the victor and smiled smugly at her while teasing her about it. She was able to get him back as well as play a trick on the boys by convincing them both, with Tiana's help, to eat Ding Bats on a stick. If the boys hadn't trusted the two 'innocent' females and paid attention when said females ordered a bag of Ghostly Marshmallows for themselves instead of the Ding Bats, they wouldn't have gotten the questionable treats for it became apparent that they were, in fact, real fried bats on a stick. Not a pleasant thing to find out once you've already swallowed it.

Devious little imps the girls were being and the boys could only hope that was the worst they were going to put them through.

&%&%&%&%&%&%%&

It was close to 2 AM when the four of them decided to leave, right after another run through Oogie Boogie's Maze of Horror and the fireworks show. Everything was quiet in the car due to the exhaustion they felt from a night filled with terror and fun, but every teen in the car felt more than satisfied with the night's activities. Pretty soon, they pulled up in front of Tiana's house, the porch light left on for her by her grandmother. The engine was cut and Demyx turned to Lauren and Tiana, a wide grin on his face.

"Well, I want to thank you girls for convincing me to go the fair instead of the dance! This was definitely a lot more interesting and a lot scarier," he laughed, pulling smiles from the females, "We had fun, right Riku?"

"Definitely, but I'm exhausted now," the silverette replied with a tired smile, looking at Demyx, "You okay to drive home?"

"Haha, dude, I'm not even sure. I'm having a hard enough time just keeping my eyes open right now," the blond answered, leaning his head on the steering wheel to rest for a second.

"Woah…well, if you're feeling like that, then why don't you two just stay over for the night? We have air mattresses. In fact, I insist that you stay. I won't have you guys driving off and getting into some accident because you fell asleep," Tiana offered, looking between the boys.

Demyx looked at Riku, the silverheaded teen regarding the ebony magician again, "Is…Is it really okay if we stay? Your grandmother won't be upset or anything?"

"Nah, of course not. Granda is real cool and I'll explain it to her in the morning why you guys are here. And if you're worried about a change of clothes, don't even trip. We got boxes full of men's clothes, so I'm sure I'll be able to find you guys some pajamas to sleep in."

They didn't really need any more convincing than that to make a decision, Riku and Demyx quickly agreeing to her offer without a second thought. They made the necessary calls to let their families know that they wouldn't be home that night and not to worry, all four teens leaving the car soon afterwards and heading into the house. Tiana made her way down into the basement of the house to search through the many boxes of clothes they had for some sweats and shirts for the boys while Lauren went into the downstairs closet to retrieve the air mattresses so they could start blowing up while everyone got comfortable, instructing Riku and Demyx to move the furniture around a little so there was room for the mattresses. Ten minutes later, their hostess came back upstairs with two pairs of sweats and two shirts, handing them over to the guys.

"Here you go, boys. You guys can use the bathroom right down the hall and to the right, yeah? Lauren and I will use the bathroom upstairs while we change and be down in a few," Tiana informed the two males while she made her way towards the stairs, her friend already heading up, "I put out two toothbrushes, some toothpaste, some towels and soap in case you guys wanted to wash down or something, okay? Any questions?"

Demyx shook his head, "No, we're good. See you girls in a few."

"Yup," she called back, already halfway up the stairs.

It took everyone about fifteen minutes to get comfortable, the girls having to scrub off all of their make-up and struggle out of the tight fitting outfits. Tiana wrote her grandmother a note to let her know that they had two extra teenagers in the house and not to freak out in the morning. She and Lauren then grabbed a couple sheets, some extra pillows, and a couple comforters and then went downstairs where they set up the air mattresses for the boys. Afterwards, they set up the two couches to lay on for themselves and soon, the group of teens was settled down in their respective places of rest with the lights out and the moon shining its' gentle rays across the room. Demyx naturally put his mattress right next to the couch Lauren was sleeping on, the couple nodding off almost instantly. As for Tiana and Riku, it took a bit longer for them to drift off.

"So I'm curious. Why do you have boxes full of men's clothes in the basement?"

"Well, some of them are old clothes that belonged to my grandpa and uncles. Some are clothes that people gave to my grandparents just because and others actually belong to me."

"The men's clothes?"

"I didn't actually dress like a dude, but I did wear guys' sweats and shirts a lot of the time. They made me feel safe; I brought them with me when I came to live with my grandparents. I also bought a few more over the years before I grew out of them."

Their voices were just a little above a whisper in the cold night, Riku's mattress pushed close to Tiana's couch as the two lay parallel to each other. His silver hair was splayed out on the pillow he was given, one arm behind his head while the other lay prone on his stomach. The ebony girl was lying on her stomach with her hands underneath her head and her black curls swept behind her. Riku turned his gaze to his hostess, a curious light in those beautiful teal-colored eyes that Tiana sometimes got lost in despite her best efforts.

"They made you…feel safe?" he repeated.

She just shrugged, suddenly feeling like she said too much as her eyes strayed over to the pictures on the mantle above the fireplace and then up to the portrait handing on the wall. Riku followed her gaze, his eye first caught by the portrait that was of Tiana with her grandmother and who he guessed to be her grandfather, an average sized man with Earth brown skin, black and gray peppered hair, and warm reddish-brown eyes that looked so much like Tiana's it was almost startling. All three of them were wearing black and silver with the grandmother in the middle, sitting in a straight-backed chair, the grandfather to the left of her with his hand on her shoulder and Tiana standing right behind her with her hands on the chair. The picture looked to only be a couple years old, probably taken when the girl first started high school. He had seen the portrait earlier, when he and Demyx first showed up to the house, as well as the other pictures littering the mantle. They were all of Tiana, with a few of just the grandparents in their younger days, but what had actually caught his attention at the time was the fact that the oldest picture of Tiana was when she had to have been at least 10 years old and in each picture, the light he was so used to seeing was missing from her eyes. They looked dull and empty, devoid of any positive emotions; it was definitely strange for such a young child to look that sad.

_"Well, YOU obviously had an amazing childhood. Not everyone is that lucky."_

_"Didn't you have a good childhood?" _

_"I plead the fifth."_

Riku remembered that conversation he had with Tiana that Saturday afternoon a month ago. He hadn't picked up on it at the time, but taking what she said back then and adding it to her statement about feeling safe in men's clothes when she first came to stay with her grandparents as well as the fact that the oldest picture they had of her was when she was ten, he realized that there was something dark she was hiding from him, probably from everyone, about her childhood. Now that he thought about it, she never talked about her years as a child and was always quick to change the subject. He turned his gaze to her once more and lightly touched her head to get her attention.

"Tiana?" he whispered, watching her shift her head until those pretty burgundy eyes were staring into his blue-green ones, "What was your childhood like?"

She blinked then closed her eyes, "Not as good as yours, that's for sure."

"As you've said before. I just remembered that conversation we had at the Plaza that one day when we first really hung out together. You said that I obviously had an amazing childhood and that not everyone was as lucky as I was…so does that mean you were one of the unlucky ones?" he asked her, knowing he was probably treading into some very dangerous waters, but he wanted to know. He _needed _to know.

"I plead the fifth."

"You can't do that this time, Tia."

"I can do whatever I want, kid."

She was getting defensive. He lifted his hand and gently placed it on top of her head, his thumb caressing her forehead in an attempt to soothe her before she got upset with him. He then sat up and brought his knees up, resting his arms across the tops as he stared at the girl that held the biggest place in his heart.

"What happened, Tiana?" he asked softly in her ear, his tone quiet and soothing which then caused her to shiver, "You can tell me."

He cradled her head and stroked her hair, encouraging her to trust him and surprisingly enough to the ebony beauty, she did trust him. Like this, having him so close with his arms wrapped warmly around her and his long fingers running through her curls, she actually trusted him…so she finally told him.

"…My parents were drug addicts and they didn't want me," she stated, nearly flinching when the fingers stopped moving and everything was silent, "And they let me know they didn't want me every day of my life."

After a moment's pause, Riku kept stroking her hair, "Go on. I'm listening."

It was painful for Tiana to think about those years where she felt so alone, but she pushed through it to get it out in the open; "I didn't have a normal childhood like all the other kids did. While they were out going to the park with their families or going out to dinner or watching movies, I spent my days watching my parents pop pills and shoot up, going on these crazy trips that scared me. And when they weren't all doped up and too high to care for me, they were irritated and angry with me, yelling at me…they hit me a lot, too. Just come out of nowhere and beat the crap out of me, slam me into walls or doors. They never cooked for me, so I always got food from neighbors that felt sorry for me and my clothes were always hand-me-downs, faded and worn out. I mostly wore guy clothes for a number of reasons, but mainly because my parents always used to make fun of me for being bigger. I was always fat to them, fat and ugly, and the only way I felt I could protect myself was to wear bigger clothes so you couldn't see my body. I felt safer in guy clothes…like nothing could touch me."

She stopped for a minute and Riku leaned his head against hers, burying his nose in her curls and inhaling her scent discreetly while caressing her cheek.

"So you lived with them until you were ten then came to live with your grandparents?" he inquired, getting the feeling that there was more she wanted to say and more he needed to know.

Tiana shook her head and moved closer to Riku, seeking more of his strength and warmth to keep going with her story, "No, I lived with them until I was seven when they both died from a drug overdose. I can't say I felt bad…I'm actually a little ashamed to say that I was happy when they died, cuz then that meant it was over. Not so much the case. I spent the next three years just being bounced around from relative to relative, feeling more and more like an outcast and scared because none of them really wanted me or, at least, didn't want to deal with me. I had an aunt who always complained about me. She said that I was quiet and creepy and just an unnatural child because I didn't talk much and didn't smile."

Riku snorted in disgust, "Well, what the hell did she expect from a kid who went through hell like you did? I think it would have been more unnatural if you were all smiles and giggles after going through that."

The girl smiled and actually managed a giggle, "You know, I thought I was the only one who thought that."

"Then what happened?"

"After three years, I finally ended up with Granda and Poppops, though I was very indifferent towards them, very cold and aloof because I was so sure that they would get tired of me too and send me off to live with someone else…"

"…But they didn't."

She smiled brighter and nodded in confirmation, "Yeah…they didn't. They kept me and loved me and I'm glad they didn't give up on me or else I wouldn't be here now. It was hard; the loneliness I felt through those years seemed unbearable and I always wondered if I was even meant to be happy at any point in my life…but I knew I had to push through it. If I didn't, I wouldn't have met Lauren or the girls…or you and everyone knows you're the most important one, heehee."

Riku rolled his eyes playfully and quietly let a chuckle slip from his lips, "Aren't you funny?"

"I'm here all week, son!"

He smiled at her humorous retort, lifting his head slightly as she shifted underneath him. She was now laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling since Riku leaned to the side to support his head on his fist, his elbow propped up on Tiana's pillow. His fingers continued threading through her dark locks, stalling for a split second when Tiana returned the favor and ran her digits up his toned arm and into his silver tresses. He leaned in to her touch and restrained himself from turning his head to kiss her palm lest it startle her into never talking to him again.

"You're an amazing girl, Tiana," he murmured in the still of the night, causing the named girl to lift her gaze up higher to meet Riku's.

There was a sweet and gentle smile on his face that made her heart skip a beat and her body feel warm; "From the way you are now, from the way you've always been since the day we started going to school together, I never would have guessed you had a history like that," he said, closing his eyes as Tiana lightly massaged his scalp before drawing her fingers away from his hair, "You hid is so well…I don't think anyone could have guessed it."

"Do you even remember when we started attending school together?"

"You know, I actually do remember when we first started going to school together. It was the middle of the year in seventh grade and you were a late transfer. Everyone was talking about it at the time."

Tiana hummed and turned her head towards the back of the couch, feeling sleep starting to overcome her as she yawned, "Yeah…that is when we first knew of each other, isn't it?"

"I'll never forget that day when I first saw you," the silverheaded boy added in a whisper, sensing his companion starting to drift off ahead of him.

"…Hmm…" she sighed softly, her eyes closing and her breathing starting to even out.

The boy waited for a couple of minutes, just listening to her breathe before he glanced down and grinned at the sight before his eyes. Tiana actually fell asleep before he did, her chest rising and falling rhythmically with each intake of breath. He had never seen her sleeping before, she looked so peaceful and…beautiful…innocent. He grazed his fingers down the side of her face, his thumb smoothing over her full, pink lips lightly so as not to wake her. Yes, she was truly beautiful like this…and he would do anything to make sure this never changed, to make sure that Tiana never changed or felt that she had to. He wrapped one arm around her waist and hugged her warmly.

"And I'll never forget this night, either. I'm here for you, Tiana; I won't ever let you feel lonely again. I'm going to stay right here with you, I'll take care of you…you're mine."

He kissed her cheek then and brushed a few stray curls from her face before making himself comfortable on the bed again, sighing deeply as he, too, began to feel that sweet bliss of sleep come over him. He closed his eyes, missing the tiny smile that spread to Tiana's face in her sleep, and fell into a peaceful slumber.

**End Chapter**

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><p><strong>Crimsonwings92: <strong>Hahaha, whoo! I hope that was a good chapter for everyone. I am seriously trying to get it out of the year 2011 and get it into the summer of 2012. I feel kind of stupid for letting it lag that far behind, but I'm working on it! Please believe in me! Also, please read and review! They make me happy! Until next time friends! Ciao!


	11. Chapter 11: Yuletide Confessions

**Crimsonwings92: **Hey all! Chapter 11 is up and, to tell you the truth, this one was fun! Hope you all enjoy and I thank those of you that reviewed and made this story your favorite. That really means a lot to me and I thank you for your support. Now, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Yup yup!

* * *

><p><strong>Food and Basketball<strong>

**Chapter 11: Yuletide Confessions**

_**You better watch out  
>You better not cry<br>You better not put I'm tellin' you why  
>Santa Claus is coming to town<strong>_

_**He's making a list and checkin' it twice**_  
><em><strong>Gonna find out who's knotty or nice<strong>_  
><em><strong>Santa Claus is coming to town<strong>_

_**He sees you when you're sleepin'**_  
><em><strong>He knows when you're awake<strong>_  
><em><strong>He knows if you've been bad or good<strong>_  
><em><strong>So be good for goodness sake<strong>_  
><em><strong>O you better watch out<strong>_  
><em><strong>You better not cry<strong>_  
><em><strong>You better not put I'm tellin' you why<strong>_  
><em><strong>Santa Claus is coming to town<strong>_

Tiana hummed to the music playing from her iTouch speakers, shaking her hips a little and dancing to the beat as she took over the kitchen in making desserts for various people. The granite counter of the kitchen island was littered with cooking ingredients and utensils and dirty dishes that just couldn't fit in the sink right at that moment. The various aromas of sweet treats blended well with the cheery, yuletide theme of the house. It was Christmas Eve day and she was spending the most part of it in her favorite place: the kitchen, baking up some delicious treats for the party that she would be attending with her friends at Axel's house.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Oh, cake's done!"

Tiana, abandoning the Rice Krispy treats she had been shaping into Santa Claus heads, raced over to the oven with oven mitts already on her hands and pulled out the two round baking pans that had chocolate cake protruding from the top of it. With a wide grin, she set them on the cooling racks and hovered over them excitedly.

"Wow, I'm always so excited when things come together!" she whispered to herself in glee, becoming more and more excited at the thought of the finished product.

She whipped back around to finish her previous activity, going through her mental list of desserts to make sure she hadn't missed anything. So far, starting from earlier that morning, she had made an assortment of Fruit Cakes and cookies for Granda's friends, chocolate-strawberry fudge on sticks and decorated like reindeer, lemon bars topped with green and red sprinkles, Sugar Puppies shaped like the heads of snowmen and Christmas Tree cupcakes for the party and it was only two in the afternoon; the party didn't start until seven that night. It took her an extra thirty minutes to finish the Rice Krispy treats and stick them inside the fridge to solidify, quite happy with her work. She had just started on the raspberry filling that would go in between the chocolate cake, which would then be smothered in pink frosting then topped with red sprinkles and freshly cut strawberries, when she heard the front door open and close, followed by the sound of bags hitting the floor and shoes thumping on the ground.

"Welcome back, Riku! I hope you were safe driving around out there on those snowy streets," Tiana heard her Granda say with a warm voice, the girl herself smiling brightly to herself.

There was a warm chuckle as the boy in question replied, "It is a little snowy, but they put salt on the roads so everything went great. Thanks for your concern Ms. Jodi."

"That's good to hear, Riku. Wouldn't want anything to happen to my favorite boy now. I enjoy your company far too much!" another male voice, this one deep, baritone, and laced with a Trinidadian accent, spoke in a joking manner, causing Riku and Granda to laugh while Tiana rolled her eyes. The man that spoke was Tiana's grandfather, Malcolm Sellers or Poppops, to Tiana; he had finally returned from his trip to Trinidad the week before Thanksgiving to two happy females.

"Thank you, Mr. Malcolm. I'm relieved to hear that, haha! I'm just going to take the groceries into the kitchen for Tiana."

After the successful night at the Halloween Town Fair, Riku had become a frequent visitor to her house and even gained good favor not only with Granda, but Poppops as well who seemed to be very impressed with Riku's manners, strong yet kind nature, and respect that he had not only for his elders but for Tiana as well. The silverheaded teen in question had been over so often in the past couple of months and the two adults of the house trusted and loved him so much that they pretty much let him walk right into the house after knocking first. The ebony girl also found a second home at Riku's house, where she was very welcomed by his mother, father, and three older brothers that she had met on Thanksgiving when Riku invited her and her grandparents over for dinner; the extended Lexington family simply adored Tiana, especially Riku's brothers who found her cute and adorable. She waited a couple seconds for her companion to enter the kitchen, looking up once she felt his presence beside her and smiled at the handsome boy who was dressed in a pair of form-fitting dark blue jeans, a gray sweater, and black shoes. And, much to her relief, his newly pierced ear that he finally convinced her to do for him a few weeks ago and it looked like he was taking good care to not let it close up again.

"Alright, I got the items you asked for," he announced, waving his hand over the bags, "I even checked the list three times to make sure I didn't miss anything."

Tiana laughed, "Oh my god, I can't believe you actually went out and bought me groceries. That is so sweet of you to do, Riku!"

"Well, you asked me to get them," he reminded her, moving aside and planting himself on the counter by the kitchen cupboards right behind her to watch the young baker in action without getting too much in her way.

"Yeah, I know I asked but I just didn't think you would do it," Tiana giggled, pulling out the items she needed for the last thing she was going to be baking that day: fresh bread. In the Sellers household, ever since she had learned how, Tiana was the one to make bread for the family instead of them going out and buying it only to have it disappear by the end of the week.

Riku watched her silently for a moment, following her fluid movements as she bustled about the kitchen, pulling down a white bowl and rinsing out the measuring cup. Tiana was wearing black sports-shorts that clung to her thighs, an old black t-shirt that hugged her curves and rounded over her breasts enticingly, much like a lot of her clothing does, and a red apron to protect her clothes. She wore no make-up, like usual, and her curly hair was up in a ponytail; even like this, messy and dressed down, covered in flour, Tiana looked pretty and so very sexy all at the same time. Yes, she had a few extra pounds to her and it showed from the pudginess of her stomach and the thickness of her thighs and the fullness of her hips, but she knew how to carry her weight sensually and proudly and Riku found that utterly irresistible. While the teen male had been watching Tiana do her thing, said girl had already mixed together the flour, oil, baking soda, salt, sugar, and yeast together for the bread, completely unaware of the way he was watching her and the effect she had on him. Riku found himself blushing profusely when Tiana stepped back and bent over to look for something in the cupboards underneath the island, giving him a perfect few of her nicely rounded ass. He covered his mouth with his hand and bit back a groan of appreciation for the sight, suddenly craving the opportunity to run his hands down the curve of her buttocks, to her thighs, and back up again. He was pretty sure his gracious hostess wouldn't appreciate those kinds of advances.

'Control yourself, Riku! Now is not the time to act, or even _think_, like a horny dog!' he berated himself, screwing his eyes shut and shaking his head to rid himself of those suggestive thoughts, taking deep breaths to calm the rush of blood to his porcelain cheeks.

"Riku, you okay? You're looking a little red. You're not getting a cold are you?"

His eyes snapped open when he felt Tiana's hand on his forehead, more than likely checking for a fever. Collecting himself, he chuckled and shook his head, taking her hand in his and looked at her.

"I'm fine, Tiana. I guess I was just getting a little hot is all; the kitchen is kind of warm," he told her, smiling at her.

The girl smiled in return and shrugged apologetically, "Yeah, sorry about that. It tends to get that way when the oven has been working since early morning. Thankfully, I just have the bread to bake and we can give it a rest, hehehe."

She turned back to the bowl of ingredients that she had mixed together, paused for a second, then turned to regard Riku once more, "Do you want to help me make it?"

Teal eyes blinked, "You…You're actually going to give me another cooking lesson? Even though I almost set the Home Ec. class on fire the last time you tried to teach me?"

"Yeah, well, my mistake was letting you anywhere near the oven. This time, you'll just be kneading the dough," she responded with narrowed eyes and a teasing smirk, "So you gonna help me or what?"

"Sure, sounds like fun," he agreed with a grin, jumping down from the counter while Tiana rushed to the wall to get the second apron that was hanging there, "What do I do?"

"Well, first we'll put you in this so your clothes don't get too dirty," she started, slipping the apron over his head and tying it in the back, "Then I'm going to have you wash your hands and then we'll get started."

Once the lad had done what was asked of him, including pushing his sleeves up, Tiana put the dough on the surface of the counter and began massaging it with her fingers to show Riku what to do; overlapping pieces of the dough over each other to make sure the entire mass was being thoroughly kneaded.

"Okay, see how I'm doing it? Really make sure you get your fingers in there and use your elbow power. Make sure that it's thoroughly needed or the whole thing won't rise and bake evenly in the oven," she instructed, moving aside to let Riku try, "Go ahead and give it a go."

With a nod, the boy took over, following Tiana's instructions as closely as he could. He laughed a little at the funny feeling of having dough between his fingers and underneath his nails, finding it kind of fun since he had never done anything like this before. However, his excitement caused him to unknowingly be a little too rough with the dough and Tiana had to step in before he ruined the batch.

"Okay, okay, wait," she stopped him with a giggle, "We want to knead it, not…murder it, hahaha. Here, see?"

She ducked underneath his arm to stand in front of him, unknowingly trapping herself between the counter and his body with her back to his front and his arms on either side of her. From this new position, she proceeded to show him exactly how he should be working the mass of dough.

"You want to firmly massage your fingers through it, you know? It's not about brute force; it's more about application and knowing how much strength to use in order to get the right consistency. It's alright if you don't get it right away, not a lot of people do. It took me a couple of tries to get it down myself," she laughed it off and pushed her fists into the dough firmly, "Are you starting to understand a little more?"

"Hmm…I think so," the silverette replied in a low voice, putting hands on top of hers, "Like…this?"

He squeezed his fingers around hers to work the dough, pressing his front against her back as they worked on it together. Tiana paused for a second, but then collected herself with a burning blush when Riku slyly laced their fingers together inside the mass, still kneading it properly in the process.

"Y-Yeah…like that," she stammered, feeling a shiver rush down her spine when the boy chuckled in her ear, his breath ghosting over the shell and tickling her cheek. She could feel his sculpted chest press and move against her back, his hips lightly pressing against her butt.

Something else that had started occurring ever since that fair was an increase in flirting between the two teens. While Tiana still felt that Riku liking her was a long shot, she could no longer deny the obvious attraction she felt towards him, the obvious 'crush' she had developed for him. Ever since she told him about her poor childhood, there seemed to have been a shift in their relationship. They had grown closer and Tiana had grown more attached to the boy, looking forward to seeing him every day and even willing to get out of the house more if it meant being around him; she even made herself a supporter at his basketball games, showing up with Kairi and Namine to cheer the boys on. Maybe it was just a weird transition from friend to _close_ friend that she was experiencing since that night, but if that were true…why was she starting to have fantasies about him now? They had gotten to the point where she would wake up hot and bothered in the middle of the night, a blush burning across her cheeks when she thought about what had transpired in her dreams, the kisses and touches that felt all too real, the heat that flooded her body when things got a little…X-rated. Yeah…people that were only close friends didn't think of each other like that.

"…O-Oh…" she gasped when Riku's large, warm hands slid from between her fingers and up to the bend in her elbows slowly before going back down again, caressing her, "Haha! Okay, well!"

In a quick second decision, one that she really didn't think about but just acted on, she twisted in his arms and pushed him up against the counter of the island, laughing breathlessly with her hands on his chest. She bit her lips and made a popping sound, smiling nervously up at the taller male that only gazed down at her with sultry eyes and a knowing smirk.

"Um…I'll take over from here. It's nearly done anyway," she said in a small voice, nervous smile still in place, before stepping to the side to finish the dough and place it in a pan.

She set it aside to let the dough rise and went about fixing up the cake that had been cooling on the racks the whole time. She brought over the bowl of raspberry filling and the two pans of cake, pulling a large plate from the cupboard to set them on. Riku's eyes brightened when he saw the filling and he asked to taste some, Tiana allowing it with a playful roll of her eyes and shake of her head. From there, the events of five minutes ago were forgotten and pushed to the back of their minds, the two teens teasing and joking with each other while Tiana frosted and decorated the cake after sticking the bread in the oven to bake. Before either teen knew it, it was half past five pm and time to start getting ready for the party. Riku knew he was going to be spending the whole day at Tiana's house up until the party so he brought a small bag with him that held his change of clothes and a few toiletries in case he wanted to take a shower before the party…which he actually did.

"Alright, you can take over the guest bedroom that's right next to the bathroom once you're done and, you know, get dressed and whatnot," Tiana told her guest as she took off her apron, grabbed Riku's and hung them both up on the hook next to the fridge, "Towels are in the closet in the bathroom and washcloths and shower gel if you need it."

Riku smiled and nodded, grabbing his bag that was next to the door, "Thanks, Tia. I think I'll be okay."

"Cool. Enjoy your shower!" she grinned, giggling as Riku winked at her and turned to make his way towards the guest bathroom.

Now, Tiana usually didn't give much thought to a man's ass or the way it looked. On top of that, she really had never understood women that made men bend over so they could check their asses out, but in this moment, as Riku strode down the hallway with that cool walk of his, she found herself tilting her head to the side as her eyes locked onto Riku's ass, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Now, she understood…and what a glorious understanding it was.

"Oh…My…God," she whispered to herself in a trance, absently twirling a lock of her hair around her finger.

It was only when Riku turned to regard her curiously that she snapped out of it, whipped around and ran up the stairs. She slammed her bedroom door shut and leaned against it, breathing deeply as a burning blush shot across her cheeks and nose. She couldn't believe that she actually stopped to check out Riku's ass, her mind taking her places that it really had no business going to and on top of that, she couldn't stop her mind from going there again. Against her will, she began to fantasize about Riku in the shower, the hot water cascading down his sculpted, god-like body in silver streams, making his silky hair a dark, steel color against his pale skin as his beautiful, teal colored eyes misted over with dark lust and-

"Oh my God! Stop it!" she scolded herself, hitting her fists against her head, "That's enough! Just…go and take a shower, Tiana, get dressed and don't think about…yeah!"

With that, she shot into her bathroom, stripped herself of her clothes and hopped into her shower to wash away all of her impure thoughts…for a moment. It took both the girl and the boy quite a bit of time to get ready, each one dressing to impress the other without fully realizing. Tiana even went so far as to decide to wear a dress, something she didn't do too often unless she was really in the mood to not wear jeans or she was actually trying to make a good impression. Riku was the first one done as he stepped out of the guest bedroom dressed up in a pair of nice black jeans, a green button-up shirt that brought out the deep green color of his eyes underneath a gray, fitted vest, his black shoes, and a wrist watch. He had spritzed himself with his favorite cologne, in hopes of catching Tiana's interest, and finally deemed himself perfectly ready for the party. He checked his watch and blinked at the time; they had 15 minutes to get to Axel's house.

"Hmm, I wonder if Tiana is ready yet?" he asked himself quietly, getting his answer when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, "Oh, there you-"

He stopped short in his sentence, his eyes widening at the sight before him. Tiana timidly came down the last two steps and stood in front of her male companion, fidgeting slightly under his gaze. She had adorned a form-fitting red suede dress with long sleeves and stopped at mid-thigh, a pair of black pantyhose, and black heels while a Santa hat covered her pretty, shiny curls. Every curve on her body was accentuated by her outfit, the dress rather tight around her bust and giving her an impressive cleavage that Riku fought to prevent himself from staring at. From where he stood, he was able to catch a whiff of her sweet perfume that he had come to love and nearly felt lightheaded; Tiana fidgeted with the hem of her dress as she waited for Riku to say something…anything.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked anxiously, looking down at her attire and wondering if maybe it was too much or not enough or…just plain bad.

However, from the way his eyes were shamelessly sweeping over her figure, from her head down to her toes and back up again, she had a feeling that it _wasn't_ just plain bad; "…Wow, Tiana…you look amazing!" he complimented her with a grin, tilting his head to the side as his eyes travelled up her legs slowly, "Classy…yet sexy-"

'Did he just say 'sexy'?'

"Definitely Christmas party ready…like Santa's sexy helper."

'He said it again!'

"Wow…thanks Riku," Tiana replied gratefully while shyly brushing back a lock of black hair.

They stood there in silence, Riku still admiring the sensual curves of the girl in front of him while Tiana did her own little sweep of the gorgeous man that towered over her. His shirt, pushed up to the elbows, clung to his chest and muscles in a fitting way, hiding the definition, but promising a most thrilling surprise underneath it. His jeans made his legs look longer and his hair fell over his shoulders in its' own style. Riku looked hot…sexy…drop dead gorgeous like this and Tiana just had the strongest urge to rip open his vest and shirt and-

"Shouldn't you two get moving? It's already 7:10," Granda cut into her thoughts, her voice startling both young adults out of their stupor.

"Oh my god! We still have to get the desserts in the car!" the ebony girl cried in alarm as she shot into the kitchen to get the baked goods out of the fridge, Riku following close behind her.

To make carrying some of the desserts easier, Tiana set the pans in a box and the cake in a tote bag so they didn't have to make a second trip into the house. With that done, they rushed to the front to put on their coats and scarves, Riku grabbing the boxes while Tiana carried the tote bag.

"Bye Granda! By Poppops! See you guys later on tonight!" the young girl called to her grandparents as she opened the door to Riku to get through.

"Bye Ms. Jodi, Mr. Malcolm! Merry Christmas," he bid as he stepped through, the elderly couple waving the children off.

Once the door was closed, Granda got up from her chair next to her knitting basket and shuffled over to the window that displayed the driveway and the main street with snow piled high in certain places and covering others in thick, soft blankets of white. Peering through the curtains, she was just in time to watch Riku take Tiana's hand and help her down the step that led to the driveway, making sure that she didn't slip or fall in her heels. The two teens then scurried to Riku's car, since he would be driving them to the party, and quickly placed the desserts inside before jumping into the car themselves.

"Something tells me that Riku will be a bigger part of this family after tonight…perhaps a grandson-in-law?" Granda voiced as she smiled and waved out the window, catching Tiana waving back as Riku started the car and backed it out of the driveway.

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say grandson-in-law, but I definitely think he and Tiana will be attached at the hip pretty soon. Good thing, too; I like Riku and I would prefer it be him than these other knuckleheaded boys that are runnin' around here like they ain't got no sense," Poppops added, making Granda chuckle as the car disappeared down the street.

"Yes, Riku is a special boy. Tiana made a good choice, heehee."

&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Driving from Tiana's house, the trip to Axel's ended up taking thirty minutes which had the two laughing since they knew that everyone was dying to get their hands on the girl's desserts. Their thoughts were only thoroughly confirmed when Tiana kept getting text messages from Lauren that said something like: "Where the hell are you guys? We want some treats! Bring the treats! We're dying for the treats! You promised me I would get a Christmas tree cupcake on Christmas Eve! Hurry up!"

"God, that girl is way too impatient! She doesn't even ask if we're okay, she just wants her Christmas tree cupcake!" Tiana laughed humorously, shaking her head after Lauren's last text.

Riku chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, I think it's a compliment. Everyone knows your desserts are great and they can't wait to dig in to them."

The ebony beauty smiled at the sweet words her companion said to her, the silverette returning the smile as he peered over at her and then returned his gaze to the road. An awkward silence filled the car for a spell, one that seemed to have spawned from sexual tension since both teens had finally come to terms with the fact that they were very much attracted to the other mentally, emotionally, and physically.

"…Are you warm enough?"

"Hmm?"

Riku pointed to the heater, "If it's not warm enough for you, I can turn the heat up. It's not a problem."

Tiana looked from Riku to the heater and giggled, "No, no, it's cool. I'm fine…thanks though. For caring and such…that's sweet of you."

A gentle smile adorned his handsome face, "Anything for you, Tia."

She gazed at him, catching his eye as he looked back at her, the gentle light in his eye making her blush. Facing the front again, she bit her lip and wondered if Axel believed in mistletoes and if there was a chance that she would be caught under one with Riku. While she was thinking that, the boy in question was going over his plan in his mind for the evening. Yes, he did have a plan, as simple as it was, prepared to help him get what he wanted that night.

Tonight is the night.

The pair finally pulled up in front of Axel's house and quickly got out of the car, Riku rushing around to Tiana's side to help her out to prevent her from slipping on any patches of ice. They gathered up the desserts, went up to the front door to knock and almost immediately, were ushered into the house excitedly.

"Finally! Dammit! You guys take forever!" Lauren exclaimed as she and Demyx took the boxes and tote from their friends and ran them to the refreshment table.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Quite your whining!" Tiana yelled after her as Riku helped her out of her jacket, the ebony girl smiling thankfully at him as he did so.

Tiana had never been to Axel's house, but found it quite homey and warm and currently decorated to fit the theme of the Christmas season, complete with boughs of holly, large red ribbons and a Christmas tree. Riku lead her through the unfamiliar house and into the living room where they were greeted by all their friends with a joyous 'hello'. Their gracious host Axel, who had been standing near the kitchen with Sora and Roxas before he spotted them, approached them with his arms wide and his reindeer antlers fixed perfectly into his red hair.

"Hey, you guys made it!" he greeted them with a grin, stopping momentarily when he got a good look at Tiana, "Woah, Tiana! You look…wow, you make one sexy Mrs. Claus! Is Riku playing Old Saint Nick, then? Hehe."

The girl in question felt a heavy blush just flow over her face while Riku's eye twitched irritably, giving Axel a dangerous smile while warning, "Axel…watch it with the lady."

The redhead laughed and held his hands up defensively, "Sorry, man, didn't mean any offense. I'm a little buzzed from the eggnog so anything I say tonight, just blame it on the booze, hahaha."

He then ran off, leaving Tiana and Riku to laugh at their friend's expense before they were fully pulled into the party and immersed into the fun. The girls herded Tiana away while the boys surrounded Riku, everyone getting a drink of the spiked eggnog and delving into the snacks, specifically Tiana's desserts that started to disappear from the table one by one. The music was loud and the air filled with merriment as the teens laughed, traded gifts with their secret Santa, and chatted with one another, cameras flashing as cute embarrassing pictures were taken. The cutest one so far being of the Woolson girls and the Hepler boys in front of the Christmas tree, Sora and Roxas holding their girlfriends around the waist while the girls gave them sweet kisses on the cheeks. Moving on, the most embarrassing one, which turned out to be the most hilarious one, was when Axel and Demyx were caught under the mistletoe. Yeah, neither boy wanted to follow the rule of the mistletoe, but they really had no choice. There had to be several copies of that floating around among their groups of friends now. Halfway through the party, Lauren lowered the volume on the iTouch speakers and called attention to the group while swinging her arm around Tiana's shoulders.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" she yelled with a large grin on her face, Tiana matching it though a bit curious as to what she was doing, "Now as most of you have found out, my girl Tia here has some amazing talents, one of them being her awesome ability to make some kickass desserts, right?"

A cheer went through the group which prompted Lauren to continue, "Well, there's another talent that she has that virtually no one knows about. Even I forget about it sometimes because she hardly ever does it."

The girl in question narrowed her eyes at her best friend, slowly figuring out what she was getting at.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Tiana will now demonstrate her other talent as she sings Jingle Bell Rock for us!"

"What? No! Lauren, that's not cool!" the ebony girl protested, but her arguments were drowned out as Lauren coaxed the others to clap and encourage her loudly so she didn't have a chance to deny the request.

She resisted the peer pressure for a time, but once Lauren pushed everyone back and left Tiana in front of them on her own, she eventually caved with a tired laugh and nodded her head.

"Alright, alright, I'll sing! Calm down!" she announced, watching as Lauren ran back up towards the iTouch and scrolled through the list of Christmas songs until she came to Jingle Bell Rock.

The instrumentals started first and Tiana looked at the floor to try and get into the rhythm without feeling self-conscious about the audience that was watching her now. She shook her hips to the beat and smiled brightly as she opened her mouth and let the words just flow past her lips.

_**Jingle bell jingle bell jingle bell rock  
>Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring<br>Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun  
>Now the jingle hop has begun<br>**_

_**Jingle bell  
>jingle bell<br>jingle bell rock  
>Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time<br>Dancing and prancing in Jingle Bell Square  
>In the frosty air <strong>_

_**What a bright time  
>it's the right time<br>To rock the night away  
>Jingle bell time is a swell time<br>To go gliding in a one-horse sleigh  
>Giddy-up jingle horse<br>pick up your feet  
>Jingle around the clock<br>Mix and a-mingle in the jingling feet**_

_**That's the jingle bell  
>That's the jingle bell<br>That's the jingle bell rock**_

It was a simple song and considerably short, but she rocked it anyway and as her group of friends cheered and applauded for her amazing singing voice, Tiana beamed proudly and accepted the glass of eggnog that Lauren gave her with a laugh, hugging her best friend chummily. Riku, who was blown away by Tiana's voice and quite surprised to find that she could sing, could only stare admirably at her as he clapped, his eyes wide with awe and his lips turned up at the corners. There always seemed to be something new to learn about Tiana and for sure, he was going to stick around to learn it all. The silverheaded teen stuck his hand in his pocket, his fingers absently playing with the little square item that they landed on while he waited for just the right moment to make his move. To be honest, he had been waiting for that right moment all night, but it just never seemed perfect enough.

When he voiced his worries to Demyx, who was in on Riku's little ploy, when the two boys were alone, the blond merely snorted and shook his head as a chuckle slipped past his lips; "Dude, you're never going to get anywhere with her if you're waiting for the perfect moment. In case you haven't noticed, there really is no 'perfect' moment with Tiana, you're just going to have to go for it," he advised the other male, nudging him in the shoulder, "It's now or never, Riku."

Demyx was right and with that in mind, Riku went for it. Making his way over to where Tiana was talking with Xion, he took her hand in his and smiled when he got her attention. Big burgundy eyes stared at him curiously as he gave her hand a small tug.

"Come with me, Tiana, I want to get some fresh air on the back porch," he urged her, already turning his body in the direction of the backyard.

"Um…okay, sure," she replied, handing her cup to Xion, "Can you just put this somewhere, Xion? You can finish it if you want, I don't care."

Xion smiled gently at the girl and nodded, "No problem, Tia!"

"Thanks," she expressed gratefully, following Riku as he led her onto the porch of the backyard, the ebony beauty oblivious to how nervous the boy was at that moment.

They left the noise of the party and traded it in for the pure serenity of nature's silence as they stepped outside, the cold air immediately hitting them. It felt good to be in the cold since they had started to feel rather warm inside from the heat and the eggnog, the refreshing air actually clearing the mind. Once outside, Tiana felt herself go breathless from how beautiful the backyard looked covered in pure white snow, the trees branches, flowers, and everything else covered in the fluffy blanket of soft ice as the moon shone its' pale, lovely rays on the world below. She smiled and allowed a breathless giggle to escape her lips.

"Wow…winter sure can be beautiful," she breathed, the air she exhaled a visible cloud in front of her.

Riku looked at her, unable to tear his gaze away from the beautiful face that haunted his dreams at night, "Yeah, it can be…especially when I can enjoy it with you."

Tiana turned her gaze to him at his words, the gentle way he said them catching her attention and making her wonder a little. The boy just gave a smile and pulled her over towards the wide railing of the porch, wiping it clean of snow, twigs, and dirt. Then, moving Tiana in front of him so the two were facing each other, he placed his hands on her waist and easily lifted her onto the railing, the same way he had done that Saturday afternoon in October at Sunset Hill. She gasped quietly at how easily he was able to lift her up, reminded once more of how strong Riku truly was and how he was able to control that strength in order to be gentle. Once she was comfortably seated, she let out a twinkle of a laugh and wrapped her arms around the pillar next to her. Her eyes swept across the yard and she gasped in delight as tiny, beautiful snowflakes began to drift from the heavens above.

"Look, look! It's snowing!" she murmured excitedly, waving her hand at her companion standing next to her with his hands on the rail, the boy chuckling in response.

"Yeah, I can see that," he replied in a playfully sarcastic tone, laughing when Tiana shoved him.

The air around the two of them was different somehow; a little tense with an ominous aura, as if something were going to happen that would change their relationship entirely. All of that made Tiana's heart pound in her chest, but she ignored it as best she could. Watching the snow fall down to Earth and feeling her childish tendencies beginning to surface, the girl reached her hand out to catch the snowflakes, actually overreaching too far behind her.

"Hahaha- Ack!"

"Careful!"

Riku, who had been watching Tiana carefully, jumped to catch her around her waist before she fell backwards into the rose bushes planted just in front of the porch. She was giggling girlishly while he sighed in relief that she didn't get hurt.

"You have to be more careful, Tia. You almost fell into the rose bushes and that would not have been fun, I'm sure," he gently chided her, his smile warm and forgiving as he held her around her waist.

The girl in question stared at her companion, her own smile sweet as she gripped his arm, "But you wouldn't let me fall, would you Riku?"

He blinked before his eyes softened and he shook his head, "No, I wouldn't…I have something for you."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the little black velvet box he had been fingering throughout the evening. He was nervous and it wasn't the absolute 'perfect' time- he had wanted to say something romantic, at least, set the mood- but if he didn't do it now, then he would lose his chance for who knows how long. He was tired of waiting. Tiana eyed the box curiously, unconsciously playing with her hair as Riku presented her with the gift.

"I know we were only supposed to buy a present for our secret Santa, but you're a special case and I just had to get it for you," he explained, his cheeks turning pink for more reasons than the cold.

"For me? Wait, I-I didn't get you anything!" Tiana stammered out quickly, her brows furrowing together.

He just shook his head, "Don't even worry about it, Tia. If all goes the way I hope it will, then you would have given me everything that I asked for."

"Wh-What? Hold on, what are you…" she trailed off when Riku opened the box, her eyes widening like saucers at what she found inside.

Laying atop the velvety material was a simple silver heart pendant with beautiful intricate designs and the word 'Beloved' engraved into the surface of the heart in a pretty jade color. The little piece of jewelry, lacking the extravagance of diamonds or jades or rubies and strung onto a thin silver chain, was breathtakingly beautiful in her eyes and in her stunned silence, she covered her mouth with her hands and looked at the boy in front of her. Her heart hammered in her chest at the gentleness she saw in his eyes, the serenity that reflected back to her as well as the…longing he must have been holding.

"Riku…what…"

"Truthfully, Tiana, I've had a crush on you for a while now. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you at this point."

"Me?" she exclaimed in disbelief, earning a nod from him, "Wait…no, that can't be right. Guys like you don't fall in love with girls like me. They fall in love with girls like…Molly and-and Kairi and Namine…Xion and Lauren! Hot, sexy, gorgeous, sweet and amazing guys like you go for girls that are equally hot and sexy and gorgeous and I don't fit that profile! I don't-mmf!"

Ah, silence, and all it took was a soft pair of warm, talented lips that knew exactly what they were doing. Riku pressed and molded his lips to Tiana's, effectively cutting her off from her rant and finally indulging in the sweetness of her kiss that he had been craving for the last two months. He sucked and nipped at her bottom lip gently, his hand wrapping around the back of her neck as his fingers played in her hair. He was far more than just delighted when Tiana cupped his face in her hands and kissed him back, urging him to continue, but soon the need for air became the number one priority and the two teens had to pull away from each other at last. Riku's face was flushed and felt lightheaded, but happy nonetheless for the chance to kiss his crush as he pecked her lips lightly, an action that she allowed since she was dazed and out of breath.

"You've heard of the saying 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder', right?" the boy whispered into the air, his answer coming in the form of a nod, "Well I am the beholder and you are the beauty. So what you don't look like Molly or Lauren or the other girls? So what you're different? That's what I love most about you, Tiana…that's what I've always loved about you. To me, you _are_ sexy and you _are_ gorgeous; you're also funny and easy to talk to and the sweetest, warmest girl I know. You're talented and intelligent…and definitely my one and only choice."

He took her hand in his and gently kissed her fingers with all the tenderness of a lover, making Tiana blush hotly at being treated so sweetly. He gazed straight into her eyes before leaning in for another kiss, the girl parting her lips to welcome him.

"I want you, Tiana," he whispered against her lips, setting the necklace aside and wrapping his arms around her waist, "I really, really want to be with you. I want to wrap you up in my arms and kiss you senseless; I want to learn everything that I can about you and hear all of your secrets; I want to comfort you when you're sad and help you feel better when you're mad…I want you to give me a chance and trust me to take care of you."

Hold up. Why did that sound so familiar? Tiana racked her brain for the answer and then it hit her! The dream that she had! It was a while ago and she really should have forgotten about it by now, but it was still very vivid in her mind and it seemed to coincide with this moment here, with what Riku said.

"_Just give me a chance and I'll take care of you."_

That's what the voice in her dream told her to do and at the time, she just thought that it was her mind overreacting to having encountered Riku in all of his sweet and gorgeous glory in the first place. Now, as she stared into his teal colored eyes that left her breathless more times than she was willing to admit, she had to admit to herself that she had wanted this to happen from the very beginning. She wanted to be the girl that the hot athlete fell in love with; she wanted to be the girl that Riku desired and craved. Now, without a doubt, she is that girl and her body felt like it was on fire as she smiled.

"Riku?" she said, looking down at the heart pendant and running her finger along the smooth metal, "Will you help me put it on?"

Big, blue-green eyes gazed at her in a daze, the silverheaded teen having to take a moment to digest what she had just requested of him before the biggest, brightest smile anyone has ever seen on Riku's face spread to his lips. Setting the box down, the boy gently took the ring and chain out of the box, moved her thick black curls out of the way, and then hooked the chain around her neck, watching the heart lie on her chest and glint in the light of the moon. Riku lovingly traced the chain down to the heart before hooking his finger around the chain and tugging forward so Tiana leaned in towards him, her lips mere centimeters away from his.

He smiled and let his fingers graze over her smooth cheek, "Now you're mine, Tia. When people see this necklace, they'll know that you belong to me and I won't ever let you go."

"Good."

Without hesitation and without holding anything back, Riku kissed her with everything he had. Gently removing the Santa hat from her head, he tangled his fingers in her hair while he explored her mouth with his tongue, mapping out every nook and crevice that he could find and thrilling in the way she responded, rolling her tongue around his and clutching his shoulders.

BANG!

The pair pulled apart quickly at the loud, startling sound to find their friends all crowded against the sliding door, cheering and hollering excitedly. They all obviously just witnessed their kiss and they took that as a sign that Riku finally confessed and when they saw Tiana respond to his kiss juts as longingly, they came to the conclusion that the feelings were mutual. The boy in question sighed as his eye twitched, slightly annoyed that they were disturbed, but when he heard Tiana's giggle and felt her forehead lean against his shoulder, that annoyance instantly disappeared and all he could do was smile lovingly.

"Oh my god, I can't believe you guys finally got together! I'm so relieved!" Lauren exclaimed as they slid the door open.

"Trust me, we all are. Honestly, I've been getting tired of watching you guys dance around your feelings for each other like a couple of skittish birds. It's been making it awkward for everyone," Roxas voiced with narrowed eyes, draping his arm around a giggling Namine's shoulders.

"This calls for a celebration!" Axel shouted, his arms spread wide.

"Eggnog!"

"That is correct, Kairi! With extra Vodka! Come on, everyone!"

At his beckoning, the group of teens made to follow their redheaded host back into the house, Riku left to shake his head before turning his gaze to his girlfriend.

'Girlfriend,' he thought to himself dreamily as Tiana beamed up at him, making quite a lovely picture with the snowy world behind her as the background, '_My _girlfriend…she's my girlfriend…she's mine.'

He chuckled and moved to lift her down from the railing, holding her body against his to feel her slide down to her feet. Was it a cheap move just to feel her delicious figure curve around his? Of course it was, but he enjoyed it all the same and since Tiana didn't protest or even scold him, he guessed she enjoyed it too.

"Come on, Tia, let's get inside. I don't want you to catch a cold out here," he said, taking her hand in his and bringing it up to kiss the back softly.

The ebony beauty blushed, but smiled all the same and nodded in agreement, "Right."

Walking hand in hand, they made their way back into the warm safety of the house, leaving behind them a winter wonderland that held the secret of their confessed love and whispered it gently through the wind.

**End Chapter**

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><p><strong>Crimsonwings92: <strong>Awwww, FINALLY! I finally got Tiana and Riku together! I've been waiting to do this forever! Even I felt like it was dragging out too long! Well, this is generally the last chapter, but there is one more I'm writing as the Epilogue. Until next time, lovelies! Ciao!

**Update: **Um...yeah, regarding the Epilogue, that won't be happening. Hahaha, sorry everyone, but it's just too late now and I think it's time to close this story off, you know? I'm sorry to all those that have been waiting for the Epilogue, but it's not going to fit any more and I would feel horrible if I kept it open any longer. So to all of my reviewers, thanks so much for taking the time out to read this story and for reviewing it and all that goodness. You guys are awesome and I hope I will still have your support in my other stories, even though I suck at updating. You guys are beautiful. See you in the next story. Ciao!


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